The life of a songmaiden
by Kittymui
Summary: Tragedies strike and Kagome loses her family, her oneesama and her voice, what will happen if she is the songmaiden who can save another world? Look inside for more info. AU and InuxKag
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**NOTE:** The abbrevation AN means: Author's note, in other words, MY NOTES and when I put these notes in a story, they are DEFINITELY worthy to read!! Just kidding... it's that you understand the story more if you read them okie?  
  
**AN:** In this story, Souta is only one year younger than Kagome. Also, Naraku is an evil being who can travel across time using his powers. Oh right, the well is now not linked with the Sengoku Jidai but with a completely different world and it isn't located at Kagome's house, but at Kikyou's shrine.  
I've borrowed some features from a playstation game called 'Lunar', I'm not copying or owning things from other people so please don't sue me!!  
This is my very first fan fiction, so please forgive me if it sucks. I'm open for suggestions and advices ^-^!!   
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  
**Summary:** After a horrible tragedy, 10 yrs old Kagome was adopted by Kikyou as her apprentice. Tragedy strikes again and Kagome loses her voice. Then she turned out to be the legendary song-maiden who can use the Shikon no Tama to safe the 'other' world. How will she overcome this?  
  


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**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**Prologue**  
  


The city was surrounded by fire and there were destroyed houses and buildings everywhere. Above Higurashi shrine of the city, there was a person floating mid-air. Long black hair, a man with evil eyes, his body covered with a white baboon pelt; his name was Naraku. 'Kukuku foolish humans, you should just give up and deliver me the maiden who possess the Shikon no Tama. It's no use hiding her, for I am always able to find her no matter where she is.'  
  
'Damn you Naraku! The hell we would, as long as there's life in this body, I will never give my sis to you!' Souta yelled, his body was not looking in a good shape; bruises everywhere. 'Mama, grandpa! Go inside and protect sis, she mustn't fall into this bastard's hands!'   
They nodded and ran towards the house, but then Naraku saw his chance to attack and shot miasma at Souta. 'Shit!' Souta tried to dodge it, but it was already too late   
  
'Souta!!!' mother cried but she and grandpa didn't stop running towards the house, for they know that he cannot be saved anymore and more importantly what would happen if Kagome fell into the wrong hands.   
  
-- Back in the house --  
  
'Kagome! Kagome, where are you?!?' her mother yelled. 'It's no use, I've always told her to hide in a safe place when there is danger and not to come out, not even when someone's calling for her, until someone finds her.' grandpa explained. 'You don't have to worry, I've given her a charm that will prevent evil from discovering her whereabouts.' 'But she's only 10!! What if nobody's able to find her? She will die!!' her mother sobbed.  
  
Before grandpa could respond, they both already heard an awfully familiar and evil voice in the house. 'You know it's not nice to invite someone in, when he has traveled a long way just to pay a little visit...' the voice wispered. And before they could even move an inch, mother and grandpa was already blown to a wall by a tremendous force. 'Papa! Papa, are you all right? Please answer me! Papa' mother cried.   
  
'Don't waste your breath he's already gone. Won't you be kind and tell me where your lovely daughter is?' said Naraku with a smirk while grabbing her neck. But his smirk soon turned into an annoyed face when he heard mother laugh. 'I will never tell you, and you, monster, will never find her! Why don't you just drop dead, you fake baboon!! My daughter will surely' before she could finish her sentence, Naraku already bore his hand through her body. 'Persistent bitch' he muttered and threw the lifeless body to the floor. With hands full of blood, he continued his hunt.   
  
'Come out, come out wherever you are' Naraku looked everywhere in the house, turned every table and destroyed everything that blocked his way but luckily he didn't notice the small trap door that was partly revealed after he ripped out the carpet.  
  
_Just you wait, maiden called 'Kagome', I will find you and you and your precious jewel will be mine!_ With that Naraku flew away from the almost completely destroyed shrine and city.   
  
~*~*~*~ Some time later ~*~*~*~  
  
All noise and fire died and a shadow appeared within the smoke. The smoke slowly dissapeared and the shadow turned out to be a girl, dressed in miko clothes._ What in the world happened here?_ Kikyou thought, while walking between the rubble, towards what was left of the shrine.   
Kikyou was a young, well-known and powerful priestess, who was searching for an apprentice for her knowledge and power. She planned to try her luck at the Higurashi shrine, but she never knew she would encounter such tragedy. While making her way through the mess in the shrine and praying for every body she walked by, she quickly recognized whom the evil aura was, which still hung in the air after Naraku left. _This it must have been Naraku! Why did he have to take so many lives? Naraku, you are truly unforgivable! _ Kikyou suddenly stopped when she felt a faint presence of a pure soul. _A survivor?_ She hurried to the place where the feeling was strongest and began to search through the rubble to find a trap door in the floor. She opened it and went inside. With her miko powers, she was able to see in the dark.  
  
'Hello? Is someone here?' she asked and quickly turned to a small figure in the corner after she heard a soft sob. The small figure was sitting in the corner with her head leaning on her knees, not showing her face. 'Hey there, are you alone? Shh don't cry, the bad monster is gone.' The little girl finally looked up, her cheeks all wet with tears. 'Can you stand up?' The girl nodded, stood up and looked at Kikyou with a sad expression. Kikyou noticed an airshaft in one of the walls of the basement and suddenly realized that this little girl probably heard everything what had happened above.  
  
_With all this happening to her, she still managed to keep her soul pure? This little girl will surely be a perfect apprentice for my power and knowledge_ 'Come girl, I will take you to a safe place. But first, you have to close your eyes ok? ,' Kikyou said, not wanting her to see the bodies of her family. The girl nodded and closed her eyes.  
With the little girl in her arms, Kikyou traveled back to her shrine, swearing that she will make Naraku pay for his crime no matter how   
  
-- At Kikyou's shrine --  
  
'What's your name, little girl?' Kikyou asked after putting her down. The girl opened her mouth but no sound was coming out, it's just like as if she couldn't talk. _She can't talk? Or is she refusing to talk?_ 'It's okay.' With that Kikyou put her hand on the little girl's head and closed her eyes to concentrate. After a while, Kikyou finally opened her eyes and gave the little girl a faint smile. 'Ah I see, your name is Kagome, right?' The little girl was shocked and took a step backwards. 'Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I'm a miko and with my powers I can sense someone's thoughts. Right now, I'm actually searching for someone who is willing to learn things from me; do you want to be that person?' Kagome hesitated for a while but finally nodded her small head.  
  
Kikyou smiled and carried the little Kagome to her house. After undressing and putting Kagome in a water tub she noticed something round and shiny that was attached to a necklace around her neck. Kikyou looked shocked when she realized what it was. _Thisthis must be the Shikon no Tama! Why is it with Kagome? Is this the reason why Naraku destroyed the city and killed so many people?_ 'Kagome, I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to wash your clothes, since they're all dirty,' she pointed at some clothes and towels 'when you finished washing yourself, just dry yourself with a towel and put these clothes on, okay?' Kagome answered with a small nod and Kikyou left the bathroom.   
  
While washing the dirty clothes at the small creek behind the shrine, Kikyou thought to herself: _But it makes no sense at all, Naraku couldn't be pursuing only the Shikon jewel. From what I've learned, it's impossible for evil beings to draw power out of something as pure as the Shikon no Tama, especially for someone like Naraku. Wait a minuteKagome couldn't possible be_ Her thoughts were interrupted when something pulled her sleeves from behind. It was Kagome, dressed up and clean. She now wears priestess clothes (A/N: The same like Kikyou in the series but a smaller version).  
Kikyou gave her a gentle and confident smile. _Just you wait Kagome, I'm going to make you talk again._  
  


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**Next chapter:** Kikyou's sorrowful memory  
  
I hope you like this story so far (though it's still a prologue :P)! If you notice anything wrong or see something that can be changed, don't hesitate!! Please review!! It will definitely encourage me to continue with this story!  
  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 7 June 2003  
Last Edited: 24 June 2003 


	2. Kikyou's sorrowful memory

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


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**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**Kikyou's sorrowful memory**  
  


Five whole years had passed since the tragedy and Kagome was quite getting used to her new life as Kikyou's apprentice. Kikyou taught her how to use bows and arrows to defend herself, how to cook decently and knowledge of all kinds of things. But most of all, she took good care of her; she treated her as if Kagome was her little sister.   
Today, she would teach Kagome to use the bow more efficiently. While showing Kagome how to pose her body and ready an arrow, Kikyou couldn't help but think about her own past. _Kaede, I'm sorry that I couldn't protect to back then, if only I had stayed at the shrine you wouldn't have to die a horrible death._   
  
(Flashback)  
  
It happened 7 years ago She heard some news about monsters attacking a nearby village and as a priestess she couldn't stay at the shrine and do nothing about it. Her little sister Kaede felt that there was something wrong about it and tried to stop her sister from going, but despite her effort, Kikyou had still decided to left the shrine.  
  
It turned out that the news was indeed only made up to lure Kikyou away from the shrine and she hurried as fast as she could, back to the shrine, only to witness a terrible scene  
Lifeless bodies of the shrine's miko's were lying everywhere. Kikyou ran towards the house, desperately hoping that her sister was safe. But when she opened the door, all her hopes vanished in an instance.  
  
The sight of Naraku holding her sister up in the air by her throat caused her blood to boil with anger. (A/N: Naraku is a famous evil being in this world and every miko has surely heard of him.)  
Just when she was starting to dash towards Naraku, she was abruptly stopped by the begging voice of her sister. 'K-kikyou onee-sama!! D-don't come near me! Naraku is' before she could say anything else, her warning was already replaced by a horrible cry, followed by a deadly silence. 'Kaede!!!!!' Kikyou cried.  
  
'Kukuku she's just too noisy, don't you agree?' After that, Naraku threw Kaede's body away. 'Naraku, you monster!! I will never forgive you!!' Kikyou shouted while readying her bow and arrow.  
  
'Foolish humans, if they hadn't been that persistent and just answered my simple question, they wouldn't have to die,' Naraku said with an evil smirk, 'But since they can't answer any more, I'll just have to ask you. And I thought they would be more obedient when the most powerful miko wasn't around to save their pathetic lives.'   
  
'Whatever you're asking, I will answer it with my arrows!!' Kikyou shouted while pointing her arrow at Naraku's heart. 'My, my, aren't we aggressive today, I was only going to ask the whereabouts of the Shikon no Tama.'  
Her eyes widened. _The Shikon no Tama? So that's why you're here_ But Kikyou had already decided not to answer no matter what question it would be and within a blink of a second; she shot her arrow at him. A tremendous power surrounded the arrow not long after it was released.   
  
'What the!!!' Naraku was surprised with this sudden attack and failed to dodge it. The arrow hit Naraku in his chest but narrowly missed his heart, but since the arrow came from Kikyou, it did some serious damage to him. 'Shit!' Naraku coughed a lot of blood on the ground and his hand covered the big wound. 'Damn you, Kikyou!! You're lucky this time, but next time I will definitely kill you!!' With this, Naraku flew away, slowly. Kikyou, not planning to pursue him any further, watched him with a nonchalant look until he disappeared.   
Then she suddenly realized something... _Kaede!_ And she ran towards the trashed little body, not far from where Naraku was standing a while ago. _Oh my god, Kaede I'm sorry I'm so sorry, please forgive me!! _   
  
(End flashback)   
  
_After that, because all of my apprentices were killed and nobody would even try to enter the shrine, I was forced to look all over the land to find apprentices._ Looking at the girl who was jumping happily in the air because of the perfect bull's-eye she managed to shoot, Kikyou slightly smiled. _Now I've finally found one. Kaede, you must have sent her to me, thank you _   
  
Noticing the gaze that her mistress gave her. 'Kikyou-sama, is something wrong?'   
'How many times do I have to remind you that you can call me onee-san?' Kikyou smiled. 'Hai, gomen, Kikyou onee-san.' Kagome gave her a small and gentle smile. _I almost thought she would never want to talk again, until 1 year ago... and it was also until then that I didn't know of her powers..._  
  


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**Next chapter:** Kagome's first battle and sudden discovery!   
  
I'm sorry about the short length of this chapter but I thought it would be boring to have too much flashbacks in one chapter. I promise I will make the next chapter a bit longer!!  
Missing inuyasha and the other characters (I do not own them!!)? Don't worry, they will appear in this story after a couple of chapters. But I'm still wondering whether it will be a sess/kag or inu/kag story.  
But how is the story so far? Like it? Hate it? Please review but have mercy since this is my first fic ^-^.  
  
~Kittymui~ 


	3. Kagome's first battle and sudden discove...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


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**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**Kagome's first battle and sudden discovery!**  
  


**Previously:** _I almost thought she would never want to talk again, until 1 year ago... and it was also until then that I didn't know of her powers... _  
  
(One year ago...)  
_It had already been four years and Kagome still refuses to talk, I wonder if she'll ever talk again._ Kikyou thought while putting the quiver on her back. 'Kagome, hurry up! It's already high-noon!'   
Today Kikyou had decided to take Kagome with her to the forest. They've heard news about a youkai approaching the shrine and Kikyou had decided to strike first instead of waiting.  
  
(AN: The Shikon no Tama as soon forgotten, since Kikyou didn't notice anything strange about Kagome or anything about her being related to the jewel)  
  
_Today will be my first battle, I wonder if I'll do fine. Will I slow her down?_ Kagome wondered while following her mistress into the forest. Feeling Kagome's uneasiness, Kikyou stopped. Without turning around, she spoke. 'I know it's your first battle and you must be worried. Don't be too hard on yourself; you're a smart girl and a diligent apprentice. To be honest with you, I'd never thought you would make that great progress within four years.' Kikyou looked over her shoulder to Kagome. 'You'll do just fine,' she said with a reassuring smile. Surprisingly, Kagome's worries and pressure on her shoulders disappeared after hearing those words from her mistress.  
After saying that, Kikyou continued her promenade into the forest with Kagome only a few feet behind her.  
  
_She's so nice to me, yet I have never spoken a word of gratitude. What am I afraid of? Am I afraid that history will repeat itself again, if I had someone to care about again?_ Kagome was so in thought that she didn't notice Kikyou's sudden stop. _It's like I have an older sister now, I wonder... I wonder if..._ Her thoughts were cut off when she heard Kikyou called her name. 'Kagome, it's here.'   
  
They both hold their bows and arrows ready and looked around them for any sign of the youkai.   
'Isn't that nice... two little miko's who dare to challenge me.'   
Kagome tensed by this sudden voice while Kikyou, without further hesitation, shot an arrow. *tjok* Next to the tree where the arrow hit, a figure appeared. 'Sh, sh, sh...nice one miko.'  
  
Kagome's eyes widened when she saw the youkai; it turned out to be a huge centipede! 'Kagome, don't panic and listen to me. When I say 'Go', I want you to jump behind the youkai as fast as you can, while I distract it with my next arrow. I want you to shoot its spine, that will surely do some damage and paralyze him for a short moment.' Kikyou whispered. Before Kagome could say anything else, Kikyou abruptly fired her second arrow while shouting 'Go!'.  
Kagome quickly jumped behind the centipede youkai and aimed for its spine. At the same time Kikyou's arrow flew past the youkai, narrowly missing its head. 'Ha, you missed, I guess you need more training huh...,' the youkai laughed, but suddenly it cried in pain as Kagome's arrow hit its spine right on the spot, 'AAARRGGGHHH.' And its body crumbled to the ground. But since the arrows of Kagome aren't that powerful, the youkai quickly recovered from the paralysis and turned to Kagome. Kagome froze as she saw the huge youkai approaching her. 'You bitch, you will pay for this!!!'  
  
'Kagome! Watch out!' Kikyou dashed to Kagome's side and quickly shot an arrow at the youkai's head. With a flash, the centipede was pinned to a tree by its head. Normally, a centipede monster like this one wouldn't be easily pinned down but an arrow, but vulnerable to holy powers as they are, no escape is possible if the arrow is fired by someone like Kikyou. The body of the youkai became motionless after a few seconds of struggling.  
  
Kikyou turned to Kagome and put a hand on her shoulder. 'Nice one Kagome, I knew you could do it.' But she noticed the strange look on Kagome's face, while she's staring at the ground. 'What's wrong?'  
_What's this feeling? As if something's wrong... w-what's this warm feeling...coming from... my throat?_ Kagome looked up and turned to Kikyou. Her puzzled expression suddenly shifted into one of fear, when she saw the tail of the centipede youkai swinging at Kikyou. _Oh no!! Kikyou onee-sama, watch out!!_  
Kikyou did notice her look of fear and was about to turn around and dodge, but she realised it too late and was bashed aside by the huge tail. 'Arck!' she cried when she hit a tree, and fell on the ground, unconscious.  
  
'Sh, sh, sh, serves you right.' The monster groaned, with its head still pinned to the tree. 'I think I'll just crush your tiny body while you're defenseless.'   
_It's all my fault, I-I have to do something, but how?_ Without hesitating any longer, Kagome ran to Kikyou's motionless body and stood protectively in front of her, with her arms spread out.  
'Brave little miko, I admire your strength...but that won't safe you!!' With that, the youkai swung its tail at Kagome.  
  
Suddenly four faint streaks of light came out of the Shikon no Tama and swirled around Kagome's body. _Eh?? what's this?_ Kagome thought. While the streaks of light continued to swirl upwards until they've reached the same height as her throat. Then they began to gather at her throat, as if the lights fell into a cyclone with her throat as its center. _This feeling...why is my throat feeling so hot?_  
  
The streaks of light disappeared as they reached her throat. Suddenly, Kagome slowly closed her eyes and put her hands together naturally, as if she was about the pray. With her eyes closed and hands resting on her chest, Kagome opened her mouth and at the same time the huge tail was bounced back when a barrier suddenly appeared around Kagome and Kikyou.  
  
_What's this sound? Who's humming? _Kikyou opened her eyes slowly, only to look up at the back of Kagome, who was floating a few feet above the ground. She was just about to call her, but halted herself when she realized that Kagome was the one humming a melody which caused the barrier to exist. _What in the world happened? How did she...this power...from the Shikon no Tama?? How is this possible?? _Kikyou was both relieved and shocked. Relieved to know that Kagome didn't lose her voice and shocked to witness her mysterious powers.  
  
'Damn it! Why don't you just die!!' The youkai yelled while continuing to swing its tail at the barrier, only to be bounced back. Then Kagome opened her eyes (half-open). Her face was emotionless and it looks as if she's in a trance. She paused her humming. Her melody had already reached its refrain and when she started to hum again, the centipede was surrounded by fire.   
'What the...!!! NOOOO..!!!!!' the centipede shrieked and its body started to dissolve, starting with its tail. 'You!! You couldn't be her... the one who... AARGG...' Before the youkai could finish, its head already dissolved in the air and the arrow that pinned his head fell on the ground.   
Strange enough, the fire only affected the youkai, the tree that it was pinned to was not damaged at all.  
  
After that, Kagome stopped humming and slowly landed back on the ground. 'K-Kagome...' Kagome snapped out of her trance when she heard her name and she suddenly realized who called her. She quickly turned around, tears was forming in her eyes when she realised it was her fault that Kikyou was hurt. She knelt down by Kikyou, who was still lying on the ground.   
'Don't be sad, it isn't your fault. I think it's only a broken rib.' Kikyou reassured, knowing that now it's not the time to question the girl about her powers. 'We should go back to the shrine...' With that Kikyou closed her eyes and let unconsciousness take over again.  
'Kikyou onee-sama!!!!!!' Kagome's cry sounded all over the forest.  


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**Next chapter:** And history repeats...   
  
**Zirrith:**   
Thank you for your encouragement! Don't worry, I will definitely continue this story. I really didn't know that Kagome's name is Kigurashi ^-^. Since it will only be mentioned in the prologue, I'll just leave it at that! Thanks for reminding me!   
I will definitely read and review your stories when I have time.  
  
**Lucrecia Almasy: **  
Thanks!! Don't worry I will update this story as soon as I have written more ^-^!  
  
Much longer than the previous chapter, satisfied ^-^? Please review!! I'm still pondering between sesshoumaru and inuyasha, though I haven't written anything about them yet. You know what? If I have written some chapters about them, I will ask you guys to vote for either sess/kag or inu/kag okay? From this chapter on, I will be slower with writing the story because of deadlines and homework, please don't be angry with me :\.  
  
~Kittymui~ 


	4. And history repeats

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


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**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**And history repeats...**   
  


_After that, I did ask her about her powers... _Kikyou looked at Kagome, who was approaching the arrow she just shot. _But she said her parents never told her anything about it. I have searched through all the scrolls to find out about her powers, after a long search I had finally found one that contained information about the Shikon no Tama. _She looked up at the blue sky. _Indeed, it said that evil beings aren't able to use the powers of the Shikon no Tama. However, each 2000 years, a maiden will be born to the world who can. And Kagome turned out to be that maiden_.  
_Unfortunately the scroll was too old and the lower part had already rotten away. I'm sure there's more about Kagome than her ability to use the jewel.  
  
_'Something wrong? Kikyou onee-sama? What are you thinking about?' Kagome asked and gave Kikyou a puzzled look. Kikyou stopped her thoughts and walked towards Kagome. 'Oh no, nothing. I was just thinking about the past five years.' she smiled.  
Noticing the worried look in Kagome's eyes, she put her hand on Kagome's shoulder and reassured. 'Don't worry, you will always be my little sister and I will always protect you, no matter what.'  
  
~*~*~*~ In the evening ~*~*~*~  
  
After dinner, Kikyou and Kagome sat down near the small creek, enjoying Mother nature.  
'Tomorrow, I'll visit your family's grave to pray for them, are you sure you want to come along?' Kikyou started. Kagome nodded and slightly smiled. 'I want them to know that I'm doing fine, besides, with onee-sama's help, I've already recovered from my past.  
Kikyou looked at her eyes, as she said those words. _You can fool anyone in the world, even yourself, but the sadness and fear in you eyes will always betray you. _Kikyou thought, then she suddenly noticed Kagome standing in front of her.  
  
'I know I have said this before, but arigatou... onee-sama.' Kagome bowed deeply and continued. 'Not only have you saved my life five years ago, you have also taught me how to fight, to survive and everything that you possess in your knowledge.' Kagome straightened up and look away. 'I thought you would at least have banned me from the shrine because of the scary powers I turned out to possess, yet you continued to care about me and not only that, you've even taught me how to control them.' (AN: Since she had used her powers during a trance last time ^-^. However, Kikyou didn't teach her how to control them as a songmaiden but as a normal miko, coz the scroll was rotten, remember :P)  
'I am more than happy to have an older sister like you, arigatou... hontou ni...'  
  
For once Kikyou thought she saw a genuine smile on Kagome's face. Then she stood up, facing Kagome. 'First of all, the powers that you possess aren't scary nor evil, a heart as pure as yours can never possess such powers,' she smiled. 'I'm sure your powers will achieve something tremendous someday. (AN: And she's damn right :P) And second of all,' she put her hands on her shoulders, 'I am also very happy to have a little sister like you, I will never regret saving you on that say, five years ago.'  
  
With this, they both walked side by side back to the house. But they didn't notice that a shadow of a person wearing a baboon pelt was watching them from afar.  
'Kukuku...it would be rude of me not to join the visit, don't you agree?' the shadow spoke to himself as it disappeared in the dark.  
  
~*~*~*~ The next day ~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome and Kikyou went as planned to the hill where her family was buried.  
  
Kikyou closed her eyes and prayed as Kagome knelt down in front of the grave. 'Mama, grandpa, Souta, it's me, Kagome. Don't worry about me, onee-sama is taking good care of me.' She clenched her fists. 'I won't let you die in vain, I promise I will definitely become stronger and avenge you someday...'  
  
Suddenly a voice could be heard from above. 'Kukuku... someday wil take too long, don't you agree? Why not make it today?'  
Kikyou and Kagome shot up and their gaze followed the origin of the voice. 'Naraku!!!' Kikyou shouted and pointed her arrow at him.  
'I'm glad you still remember me, Kikyou.' Naraku landed on the ground next to the grave. 'But if you don't mind , I'm not planning to wait another 2000 years for this chance.' And he started to walk towards Kagome.  
  
'My dear maiden, I have waited 2000 years for this day to come. Now, come to me.' Naraku demanded as he slowly raised his hand to touch Kagome's face. Kagome quickly jumped backwards. 'You!!! You're the one who killed my family, you monster!!' Kagome yelled and pointed her arrow at Naraku. 'Now die!!'  
  
Just when Kikyou expected Kagome to shoot her arrow, she suddenly noticed Kagome lowering her bow and arrow. 'Kagome?' What are you...' She was too shocked to continue when she saw the Shikon no Tama. It was faint but she could clearly see that the pure white jewel was now tainted and becoming gray. _How can this be happening? _She looked at Kagome's face and saw that she was in a trance again with her eyes half-open. Then she quickly turned to Naraku. 'You bastard, what did you do to her!?'  
  
'Surprised, aren't you? Didn't your scolls tell you about this?' Naraku laughed as he put his arm around Kagome's waist and pulled her near. 'Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I told you.' He cleared his throat.   
'Every 2000 years, a maiden will be born to the world, who can use the powers hidden within the Shikon no Tama. Well, it's a long prophecy, so I'll keep it short. This maiden can control the powers with her voice. Of course, she can make the world a better place with them,' Naraku continued, with a disgusted face, which quickly turned into a smirk. 'however, she can also use those powers for evil.' Naraku gave Kikyou a confident look. 'And with Kagome by my side, I will rule over the world.' Kikyou shivered at the idea.   
  
'The way she uses her powers depends on whether the jewel is pure or evil, which in turn depends on the mind of the maiden.' He holds the jewel in his hands. 'As you can see, a weak mind like her's is easily overtaken by evil.'  
  
Without second thought, Kikyou shot an arrow at Naraku, causing him to jump away from Kagome. She quickly ran to Kagome.   
'Kagome! Wake up!' Kikyou shook her shoulders with both hands. Then she suddenly felt something coming at them at a very high speed and quickly turned around with her back facing Kagome.   
  
Naraku had fired a tremendous stream of evil force at them. _Damn, if I dodge it, Kagome will get hurt. _ Kikyou looked over her shoulders at Kagome, who was still in trance. _I will never let you die. _ And Kikyou faced the force again, that was almost going to hit them.   
She moved her hands in front of her and gathered all her holy powers at them, which were soon surrounded by white light.   
  
Then a huge explosion appeared on the hill.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The smoke of the explosion faded and the skies cleared up. Naraku was nowhere to be found and the Shikon no Tama returned to its originale color. Kagome finally regained consciousness from her trance.  
_ I... what happened? What did I just do?_ She stopped thinking to herself when she noticed Kikyou standing in front of her, with her back still facing Kagome. 'K-kikyou onee-sama?'  
Kikyou turned her head and looked over her shoulders at Kagome. Blood was coming from the corner of her mouth and from the wounds on her forehead; dripping off her chin. 'K-Kagome...daijoubu?' she whispered. Tears were rolling down on Kagome's cheeks. 'Gomen, onee-sama...it's all my fault.'  
'Kagome...don't cry, be strong...' With that, Kikyou closed her eyes forever and began to collapse to the ground. Kagome quickly caught her and sat on the ground with Kikyou in her arms. 'Onee-sama, please don't die!! Don't leave me... don't...' Kagome grabbed her own throat as no sound came out of it. _What the...? Why is my voice...? _Kagome realized she had lost her voice due to the shock but ignored it as she carried Kikyou's body back to the shrine, crying.  
  
-- Back at the shrine --  
  
The small streaks of tears turned into streams, when Kagome was cleaning her sister's body and dressing her up as graceful and beautiful as possible. After that, she carried her to the lake near the shrine. It was said that the lake was bottomless, since nothing was ever found back if it was thrown into the lake. Hence, the name: 'Bottomless Lake'.   
_Onee-sama, may you rest in peace. _Kagome layed Kikyou's body on the watersurface and stepped back to watch the body slowly sink into the Bottomless Lake. She turned around and walked back to the house after the body disappeared into the deep darkness.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
'Well, I guess there isn't anybody left to prevent my from taking over the world, is there?'  
Kagome recognized this voice and her expression soon turned into one of hate, when she looked into the eyes of Naraku, who was standing in front of the house.  
  
She opened her mouth to curse him, but realized that she had lost her voice. 'My, the legendary songmaiden has lost her voice. Now that's quite a problem isn't it? Was losing your dear sister THAT unbearable?' he said with a smirk.  
Kagome's ears twitched as she heard those cruel words. _I will NEVER forgive you!! NEVER!!!_ She closed her eyes. _Onee-sama, if you can hear my pleading, please lend me your powers so that I can avenge your death. _   
  
Suddenly, she felt a presence of Kikyou near her. Kagome looked around and saw Kikyou standing right next to her. _Kagome, I'm going to lend you my voice, but beware... you cannot defeat Naraku as you are now. _(AN: Meaning that she can't defeat Naraku on her own) _You know the sacred well near the shrine right? Jump inside when you get the chance... a new destiny is waiting for you inside that well._ The figure of Kikyou faded as she spoke the last words.  
_No!!! Onee-sama!! Don't leave me behind!!_ Kagome cried. 'Be strong...' were the last words Kikyou spoke before she completely vanished.  
  
'What's the matter songmaiden? Seeing things?' Naraku laughed but stopped when Kagome opened her eyes and put her hands together (AN: Like the first time she had used her powers, only this time, she's aware of it.). Kagome opened her mouth and began to sing a serenade with the voice of Kikyou.  
'What the..!!! Impossible!!' Suddenly a barrier of water surrounded Naraku. Naraku tried to break the barrier with his powers but failed. 'Grrr, you won't seal me that easily!' he continued to make his way out of the barrier.  
  
_This is my chance. _Kagome dashed passed Naraku and stopped as she reached the well. She hesitated. _My destiny lies in this well? How did she know that?_ She climbed on the side of the well. Her hesitation was soon interrupted by the sound of Naraku breaking her barrier.  
'You bitch!! You stay right there!!' Naraku yelled as he ran to the well. _I guess I don't have any other choice_ Kagome thought to herself and jumped into the well.  
Naraku eyes widened and quickly jumped after her. But when he reached the bottom, there was no sign nor trace of Kagome.  
  
He clenched his fists. _I will always find you, Kagome. The next time we meet, I will definitely make you mine.  
  
-- _Somewhere on the other side, at the bottom of a well --  
  
At the bottom of the well, lies a human girl, unconscious; about to awake in a strange world and face her destiny...  
  


* * *

**Next chapter:** The other world...**  
  
Vocabulary:**  
**onee-sama:** people usually say this to refer to their older sisters whom they respect very much.  
**gomen(nasai):** I'm sorry  
**arigatou:** Thank you  
**hontou ni:** Really  
**daijoubu?:** Are you allright?  
  
**sk8er gurl3789:** Thanks for the encouragement!! I have one vote for inu/kag here, anybody wanna vote more?  
  
** Lucrecia Almasy:** Hahaha Yeah I thought so too (about the name of Kagome) but a reviewer told me about it, don't really know what it really is anymore. But the name won't be mentioned in this story anymore so I'll just let that pass me by *still pondering about the name...* Oops... nope now I'm definitely over it *cough* ^-^.  
  
**To all:** I will continue this story, in fact, I already have it done till chapter 6 on paper ^-^, but don't have much time to put in on my computer that's all. Please forgive for letting you wait!!  
  
*Begging on her knees and looks around for more potential reviewers* Please review after reading!!  
  
Greets,   
~Kittymui~ 


	5. The other world

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on reviews:**  
**ALL:**   
Everybody listen! I have decided what kind of fic this will be. It's gonna be a INU/KAG story!! Don't fret Sess-fans, I promise I will write a Sess/Kag story after I have finished this one!! And...ehm... Sango, Miroku and Shippou aren't going to appear in this story, because I can't find a fitting role for them here, hope you don't mind ^-^.  
**  
Katherine/Megan Jones:** I hope you still want to read my story, even if it's not a Kik/Inu fic ^-^.  
**  
Sabishii Onna no ko: **Thanks for reading my story and reviewing it ^-^. I have to admit that I hated Kikyou when I first saw her in the original series, but my views have changed gradually, so I have decided not to represent Kikyou as an evil person.  
Don't worry, I will finish this story no matter what!  
  
**vegito044:** Hahaha, thanks for reviewing, can't wait for Inuyasha? Don't worry, he and Sesshoumaru will appear very very soon. In fact... *Kittymui quickly covered her mouth* no no no you should read this chapter find out yourself ^-^.  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**The other world...**   
  


_Uhn..._ Kagome slowly opened her eyes. _W-where am I...?_   
Then she remembered what had happened. _Kikyou onee-sama..._  
A tear rolled down her cheek, then she remembered what Kikyou said before she vanished. 'Be strong...' Kagome quickly wiped her tears and looked up. _Don't worry onee-sama, I won't cry anymore._  
  
When Kagome tried to stand up, she suddenly felt a stabbing pain coming from her ankle and quickly grabbed a wall for support. _Itai... _Kagome looked at her ankle _I must have sprained it during the fall._   
  
~*~*~*~ After a while ~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome finally managed to reach the top of the well and slowly climbed out of it and sat down, leaning against the well.  
_Pfew, it took me ages to climb out with this pain._ She rubbed her ankle and looked around. Kagome jumped up of surprise but the pain of her ankle caused her to fall back on her behind. _Oh my god!! This isn't the shrine!! W-where the hell am I?_   
The well where Kagome climbed out of, stood in the center of an open grass area which was surrounded by a forest.  
  
Then Kagome noticed something strange. _The grass... and trees... are...are dead?!_ She looked up at the sky. _Are those clouds always that thick? If so, I guess that explains the dead trees and plants.  
  
I guess staying here isn't solving anything. _ Kagome looked around. _Is that... a castle? _Kagome looked at a castle-like building, which stood on a high mountain. Since there wasn't anything else in the vicinity, Kagome decided to make her way to this castle.  
  
~*~*~*~ Some time later ~*~*~*~  
  
A couple of hours had passed. Kagome became exhausted of walking with a sprained ankle and sat down on a rotten tree trunk.  
  
_Everything here is dead. How am I supposed to survive in this world?_ She thought while staring at a dead flower, lying on the dead grass. She mindlessly picked it up and held it in front of her. _This must have been a very beautiful flower. _After holding it for a while, she threw it away and stood up. When she was planning to walk away, she suddenly realized something and rushed back to the place where she threw the flower.   
Her eyes widened as she saw the beautiful and colorful flower that one shared the same color as the dead grass where it laid on.  
  
_ I must be dreaming... this can't be happening!!_ Kagome looked at her hands. _Looks pretty normal to me._ And she walked to the dead tree trunk and put her hands on it. _Whoa!!!_ Kagome's mind shouted when she saw a little green sprout growing on the gray trunk. _I'm not dreaming, this is really happening!_ She stood up and quickly searched for plants that would grow edible things. After searching a while, she finally found something that looked like a tomato plant but a more dead version. She put her hands on the dirt around the plant and within seconds the plant was miraculously revived and growing delicious fruits on its branches. After growing about eight pieces, Kagome finally lifted her hands and started to pick the fruits.  
She ate a couple of pieces and kept the rest for later. (AN: for your information, Kagome is still wearing her miko clothes)  
  
Kagome made herself a bag with blades of grass that she had revived, that way, she could bring along berries and fruits and eat them during her travel.  
  
~*~*~*~ A couple of weeks later ~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome had continued her travel like that about a month now. Her face and clothes were covered with dirt and bruises were everywhere on her body.   
  
As the castle was coming closer, the dead forest started to look more like a swamp and jungle. But the worst thing was, her ankle wasn't getting any better. _It's probably more seriously sprained than I thought_. Kagome sat down again. _I'll just rest for a while._ Kagome wiped the sweat drops on her forehead. _How long has it been that I've taken a shower?_ She wondered while stroking her hair.  
  
Suddenly she heard rustling of leaves. Kagome stood up and looked around. _What was that? Youkai? Beast? I haven't seen one since I came here..._   
  
Then, suddenly two big youkai's jumped out of the bushes. 'How long has it been that we've tasted human flesh, aniki?' the one asked the other. 'A looooong time now.' the other answered with water coming from its mouth.  
Kagome's eyes widened. _T-they're...C-chimeras!?! But they don't exist...they're not real..._  
[AN: Don't know what Chimera's look like or what they are? Don't worry, I will explain it in the next chapter ^-^]  
Kagome quickly ran the other way, only to be halted be one of the chimeras, which jumped into the air and landed in front of her.  
  
_Dareka...tasukete..._ Kagome begged with despair and she knelt down. She closed her eyes as the youkai started to dash towards her.  
  
When nothing came, Kagome opened one eye to see what was keeping them from putting their claws into her. Kagome opened both her eyes in a flash when she saw someone standing between her and the Chimera's, with his back facing her. From examining the form of the body, Kagome knew this person was a male.  
He has long silver-white colored hair and he was wearing a white and wide kimono with long sleeves and he also wore armor over his kimono. (AN: Reaaally hard to describe... why don't you just look at the images of Sesshoumaru in the series ^-^!) But the most eye-catching thing was the fluffy white tail that hung over his right shoulder.   
  
[AN: Since this story isn't related to the storyline of the original series, Sesshoumaru still has two arms ^-^!!]  
  
_Who is he? Is he saving me? But why... he's also a youkai..._ Kagome wondered as she continued to stare at this youkai.  
  
'Out of my way, Sesshoumaru! We have found it first!' one of the Chimeras yelled. 'It has been ages since we had set out fangs in human flesh, so back off!!'  
_So his name is Sesshoumaru..._ Kagome thought and winced at the loud voice of the Chimera youkai.  
  
Sesshoumaru noticed the wincing of the human girl at the corner of his eye and turned his attention back to the two Chimeras. 'Unfortunately, you've found her at the wrong place. This girl is now standing on my domain; in other words, this girl is now my property. So if you low-lives want to live, leave now or I might change my mind of being merciful.' Sesshoumaru said with a calm voice.  
'Not fair! You know we both are no match for you...' the younger Chimera pouted. But since they didn't want to die today, they both flew away obediently.  
  
After that, Sesshoumaru turned around and walked towards Kagome. On his forehead there is a crescent moon mark, and covering each cheek near his ears are two parallel sets of dark marks.  
_Wow... he's really handsome...b-but... is he going to kill me now? _ Kagome thought when Sesshoumaru stopped in front of her, looking down at her. Noticing her don't-eat-me-look, he spoke. 'Do not compare me with those human eating low-lives, girl.' Kagome slightly nodded. 'Since you're my property now, I won't let you die in someone else's claws than mind, understood?' Kagome nodded again. _I guess this is his way of telling me that I'm under his protection from now on. _ Kagome thought in herself.  
  
Kagome was surprised that he suddenly offered her his hand. 'Can you stand?' She nodded, took his hand and stood up. She winced at the pain of her ankle. 'Are you hurt?' He asked nonchalantly. Kagome pointed at her sprained ankle. 'I understand.' Without saying anything else he made a sound of a whistle.  
  
Suddenly a huge white dragon descended from the sky and landed near Sesshoumaru and Kagome. 'Come.' Sesshoumaru offered Kagome his hand once again. _Ehh?! A dragon!?! I'm going to ride a dragon!?!_ She gave Sesshoumaru a very puzzled look as she took his hand for support.  
  
Kagome looked up at the huge dragon. _How am I supposed to climb on this huge creature...it's... whoa!!_ Before she knew, Sesshoumaru was already carrying her. With her in his arms, he jumped on the back of the dragon.   
  
He gently set her down and gave the dragon a sign that they could depart. And the dragon spread his wings.  
Not used to riding dragons, Kagome lost her balance when the dragon took off and she quickly grabbed onto something. When she regained her balance, she suddenly realized what she was holding onto. She had grabbed the kimono of Sesshoumaru!! Kagome slowly looked up only to look straight into his eyes, which looked quite annoyed. She quickly let go of his kimono.  
The dragon suddenly took a deep dive in order to dodge a huge bird and Kagome lost her balance again and again, she grabbed Sesshoumaru's kimono in order not to fall.  
  
Not wanting to see his annoyed face again, she slowly released her grip. Suddenly, she felt that something was holding her waist and pushing her slighly closer to Sesshoumaru's chest. Kagome looked up. _He's preventing me from losing balance again._ Kagome slightly blushed at the idea that his arm was still resting on her waist and her hands still resting on his chest. From a third person's view, it looks as if Sesshoumaru was holding her near to protect her from incoming danger.   
Kagome looked up and though Sesshoumaru wasn't looking her way, she gave him a gentle smile.  
  
But Sesshoumaru could see it without looking at her directly. _She smells quite nice for a human, who hasn't washed for days; she smells like flowers and waterfalls. _ He looked at her while she wasn't looking at him. _I wonder what kind of face will be hiding beneath all that dirt._ He quickly shook his head at this thought and turned his attention to the horizon again. _Must be ugly, like all other humans. _He thought again and laughed at himself for even thinking that she might be beautiful after a bath.  
  
With that thought, he silently continued watching the castle in the distance as they flew closer to it. Little did he notice the girl, who had fallen asleep and leaned her head onto his chest...  
  


* * *

**Next chapter:** A castle and a gift  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Itai...: **Ouch...  
**Youkai:** Demon  
**Dareka...tasukete...:** Somebody... save/help me...  
**Aniki:** Refers to an older brother  
  
~Kittymui~ 


	6. A castle and a gift

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own any of the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on Reviews:**  
**Hana Song: **Thank you very much for your review and for reminding me to allow anonymous readers!!   
  
**My-Name-is-Spoken**: Thank you very very much for your reviews!! I have corrected the mistakes I made in this chapter, thanks for telling me ^-^!  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**A castle and a gift**   
  


_Nooo!!!_ Kagome's mind screamed as she woke up. Sweat drops rolled on her forehead as she sat up. _Kikyou onee-sama... Eh? It was a nightmare..._ She looked around and found herself in a bedroom.  
  
The room was decorated with beautiful furniture; all azure colored and corners were coated with silver. The room also had a large balcony. _Where..._ Then she remembered being saved by a certain dog-youkai and being carried by a white dragon to the castle where she was heading.  
  
_My ankle..._ She thought while looking at her well-bandaged ankle, which didn't hurt anymore.   
  
When she realized she was still dressed in her ragged and dirty miko clothes and her face still covered with mud, someone knocked at the door.   
Since she couldn't tell the person to come in, she silently waited till the door opened. A person entered the room. 'Ah, you're awake.' The person said.  
  
Then Kagome recognized this person. _Sesshoumaru._ She looked at him as he approached the bed where Kagome was sitting on.   
  
He stopped when he was about 1 meter away from her; he looked down at Kagome. 'You have slept for 2 days already.'   
  
He looked at her clothes. 'I shall have someone prepare a bath and new clothes for you to wear. Other things are present in this room.'   
  
When he turned to walk away, Kagome quickly grabbed his sleeve, causing him to stop and turn around. 'What is it?' he asked coldly, but was surprised to see the gentle smile on Kagome's face.   
  
'Y-you're welcome...' he responded gentler. _I guess this is the only I can show him that I'm grateful_ Kagome thought while releasing her grip. And Sesshoumaru slowly walked out of the room, leaving the door open.  
  
_How is it that she doesn't talk? Why is there sadness to be seen in her eyes? She smiled at me...thanking me for saving her? _Sesshoumaru pondered as he walked down the hall but then shook his head. _Why do I care..._   
  
-- Back in Kagome's bedroom --  
  
After watching Sesshoumaru leave, Kagome got out of bed and walked to the balcony. The landscape that she saw was terrible, too terrible for words.   
The sky was filled with thick dark clouds, no sun could be seen and all the lakes and rivers were dried out. Neither greens trees nor plants could be seen in the landscape as far as the eyes could reach. Tears almost filled her eyes when she saw this, until she suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice behind her.   
  
'This land is on the verge of dying.'  
  
Kagome quickly turned around. A person was standing in the doorway; leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. He looked a lot like Sesshoumaru.   
He also had long silver hair, but unlike Sesshoumaru, this person didn't have a fluffy tail hanging over his shoulders. Instead, he had a pair of white dog-ears on his head. He was wearing a red haori with long sleeves over a red hakama. He looked rougher and less graceful than Sesshoumaru. _But still good-looking in his own innocent way._ Kagome thought as she kept staring at him.   
  
[AN: A **haori** looks a bit like a wide jacket, you can wear it over a normal kimono. The haori is held closed with a braided cord tied in a decorative knot. In Inuyasha's case, he wears a red haori, made of Fire Rat's fur over a white juban (kind of looks like a kimono) and a red hakama. A **hakama** is an old Japanese part of clothing. It looks like a skirt, but it is really pants with wide pant legs. Some people tie the bottoms of the pant legs to thier ankles, and when thet do that, it looks a lot like Inuyasha's pants. Sesshoumaru also wears a haori (white) but with armor over it. As a matter of fact, Inuyasha isn't exactly wearing a haori, but in order not to confuse everybody, I'll just leave it at haori ^-^!]  
  
'What are you staring at!' He yelled angrily, only to cover his embarrassment by her gaze. He started to walk towards her. 'And what the hell are you doing in my castle!!' He grabbed her wrist. 'You look like shit!' Kagome winced at the loud voice. 'And you even smell like...'   
  
Surprised by his sudden stop, Kagome looked up. A shining tip of a sword was resting on his shoulder and pushing against his neck.  
  
'I suggest you release her wrist and back off if you still want your head attached to your body, my dear brother.' a voice spoke behind him.   
  
'Feh!' Inuyasha spat and released her wrist and walked to a wall nearby.   
Kagome's gaze followed Inuyasha. _B-brother? No wonder he looked like Sesshoumaru._ Kagome's attention turned to Sesshoumaru, who was sheathing his sword and walking towards her.   
  
'Your bath is ready, follow my servant and he will take you there.' Sesshoumaru clapped his hands and a servant appeared at the doorway. Kagome slightly nodded and followed the servant, leaving Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha behind.  
  
'Since when do you care about humans?' Inuyasha asked mockingly.   
  
'Ever since I had found out that she's wearing the Shikon no Tama.' Sesshoumaru answered.   
  
'No way! That jewel disappeared a long time ago!! W-what does this mean?' Inuyasha was astonished after hearing this.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned around and walked to the door. 'I do not know yet, but before that,' he looked over his shoulder at Inuyasha. 'you should learn how to treat her as a guest.' And he left the room.  
  
'Keh! Whatever!' Inuyasha yelled after him and also left the room after a while.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
_This bath is really relaxing._ Kagome thought while washing her hair. _Too bad, there isn't any soap around. _  
  
Then Kagome suddenly remembered the good smelling plant she had put in her sleeves, to cover her human smell a little, when she was still in the forest.   
Kagome stepped out of the bath and searched through her clothes. _Ah! There it is!_ Kagome picked the petals and put it in the bath. Within second, the whole bathroom was filled with the fragrance of flowers and waterfalls.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
When Kagome finished her bath, she dried her body and hair and walked back to her room. She put on the new clothes that were prepared for her. _T-this is really beautiful. _She watched herself in the mirror.   
  
It was a light blue yukata with silver flowers embedded on it and it fitted her perfectly. While admiring her new clothes, she didn't notice someone standing at the doorway, his eyes locked on her.  
  
_T-this is the girl that I've saved?_ The beauty that was standing in front of the mirror amazed Sesshoumaru.   
For one second he thought his heart was going to melt by the sight of Kagome. He quickly snapped out of his stare. 'You look really beautiful in that yukata.' He finally managed to say.   
Kagome quickly turned to him. _H-how long has he been standing there??_ She slightly nodded and smiled.   
  
Sesshoumaru approached her. 'Come with me, my little brother is waiting for you at the dining room.'   
Kagome gave him a puzzled look.   
  
'I guess you could say that he's regretting his rude appearance a while ago.' With that Sesshoumaru walked out of the room. _A-an apology? _Kagome wondered and followed him.  
  
-- At the dining room --  
  
_What's taking her so long? _Inuyasha was walking back and forth in the dining room.   
  
'She has arrived.' Inuyasha turned to look at his brother, who gave him a death glare that warned him not to say anything rude again, and slowly left the dining room.   
  
He could see her figure in the shadow after Sesshoumaru left. 'What are you standing there for?! I won't eat you, if that's what you're thinking.' he said, slightly annoyed.  
  
Kagome hesitated before walking out of the shadow. She didn't dare to look up at his face, not after his reaction a while ago. If she had looked up, she would have been able to see the astonished look on his face.  
  
_God she's beautiful..._ Inuyasha thought and couldn't take his eyes off of Kagome.   
The kimono fitted her perfectly with her dark hair and dark blue eyes. _  
  
Hate to admit it, but she smells really nice... this fragrance...I've smelled it before...a long time ago...b-but..._ 'The plant with this fragrance died a long time ago, along with the vegetation, where did you get this plant?' he suddenly asked. Kagome looked up but couldn't answer his question, she only gave him a puzzled look.  
  
Inuyasha was annoyed. 'Look! You don't have to answer if you don't want to! Sheesh, you can tell me to shut up, you know.' he snarled. But then he noticed Kagome pointing at the throat and slightly shaking her head, sadness filled her eyes as she did that.  
  
Then he understood what she was trying to make clear. 'Oh... you can't talk... I'm sorry.'   
Kagome shook her head again and slightly smiled at him. Inuyasha felt guiltier than before as she saw her sad smile.   
  
'I... euhm.' he stuttered and looked away. 'I'm also sorry for frightening you a while ago...it's just... that I get so angry sometimes when I think about what this world had become.'   
  
Kagome was relieved that he wasn't angry at her. She smiled gently and gave him an I-forgive-you expression.  
_She's really kindhearted, but why do I see sadness in her eyes? _He shook his head. _It's none of my business._   
  
'My name is Inuyasha, as you can see, I'm different than my brother. That's because I'm a hanyou. My father was a full youkai and my mother was human.'   
He crossed his arms and stuck up his nose. 'I guess you won't be able to tell me your name huh? That's a pity...' he snorted.  
  
Kagome looked at him. _Am I really unable to tell him without my voice? W-wait...maybe I can try..._Kagome thought and suddenly grabbed one of Inuyasha's hands with both her hands, causing him to widen his eyes. Inuyasha was surprised with her sudden action and slightly blushed.   
  
'W-what are you...?' he stopped when he suddenly heard a voice in his head.  
  
_My name is Kagome, nice to meet you...Inuyasha!_ He looked at Kagome, even more surprised than before. 'N-nice to meet you, K-Kagome, was it? he stuttered. Kagome nodded and smiled happily at him.   
  
Inuyasha's look softened. 'Why don't I show you around the castle?' he offered her his hand. 'You could easily get lost in this big place.' Kagome took his hand and nodded. And they both left the dining room together.  
  
~*~*~*~   
  
After a while, they've reached the weapon room.   
  
'This is where we keep all other weapons except mine and my brother's.' Inuyasha explained as he opened the door.   
  
Kagome entered the room and looked around until she saw a set of bow and quiver. She gently picked it up. _  
This is really beautiful. _It was a bow made of dark Oakwood and the ends were connected with a silver string, the quiver was also made of the same material and at some places coated with silver decorations.  
  
'You like it?' Inuyasha asked as he walked to Kagome's side.   
Kagome looked at him and slightly nodded.   
  
'You can have it if you want.' Inuyasha slightly smiled.   
Kagome was surprised. _Eh?! He must be kidding, this looks really expensive and rare._   
  
'My mother made this bow and quiver for me.' He took the bow off of Kagome's hands and looked at it. 'You see this?' He pointed at the silver string. 'It's made from my silver hair when I was little.'   
  
Inuyasha looked at the sword that hung around his waist. 'But I'm actually more attached to fangs and blades than bows and arrows.' He looked back at Kagome and put the bow in her hands. 'So if you really like it, you can have it. I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind that.'   
  
Inuyasha felt something warm touching his hands, when he looked down he saw Kagome's hands holding his'. _Arigatou, I will treasure this._ Kagome released his hand and held the bow against her chest. Before she could see him blushing, he quickly turned around. 'Y-you're welcome...'   
  
Inuyasha looked at the hand that Kagome held. _Her hands were really warm; really comforting._ His thoughts were soon interrupted by a figure at the doorway. It was Sesshoumaru.   
  
'Stupid brother, what are you taking a girl to a weapon room for.' he said after he noticed Kagome in the room.   
'I see that you have properly apologized to her, haven't you?' he looked at Kagome.   
'And have you also found out what her name is?' he asked as he approached Kagome.   
  
Inuyasha quickly stood in front of Kagome. 'Her name is Kagome. And if you don't mind, we're going to continue the tour in the castle!' He turned to Kagome, who was surprised to see him so protective towards her. She looked at Sesshoumaru and then at Inuyasha and slightly nodded.  
  
Suddenly the whole castle began to shake heavily, as if there was a huge earthquake.   
Kagome lost her balance and fell on the ground. Just before she actually hit the ground, she felt two strong arms embracing her.   
When she looked up, she found herself in Inuyasha's arms and she was leaning onto his chest.  
  
After a while, the castle stopped shaking. Inuyasha released his embrace. 'Kagome, are you okay?' She nodded.  
  
"Earthquakes are very normal in this world, since it began to crumble.' Inuyasha explained.   
  
Sesshoumaru walked to Inuyasha's side. 'I'm afraid this isn't an earthquake, Inuyasha, can't you smell them?'   
  
Inuyasha sniffed the air and his expression immediately became serious. 'You're right.' He turned to Kagome. 'Stay here, Sesshoumaru and I will solve this.'  
  
Before she could do anything, they had already left the room.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were rushing through the halls towards the courtyard. 'What do you think it is?' Inuyasha asked while dashing. 'If I'm not mistaking, it's those Chimeras again.' he responded.  
  
-- In the courtyard --  
  
They have finally reached the courtyard. There were four Chimeras standing in the courtyard, playing with the dead tree trunks until they noticed the brothers approaching them.  
  
'Hah! So you've finally showed up.' one of the Chimeras said with a smirk. 'Amazing earthquake huh?'  
  
Inuyasha growled. 'Feh! Your mother never taught you any manners? Didn't she tell you not to go into a stranger's house?' he shouted.  
  
'You shut up, hanyou. We didn't ask you anything,' another Chimera roared.   
'We had come to claim something what your brother had taken from us.' A bigger Chimera stepped forward. 'You see, we had found a human girl first, but he had to take her from us.' He bared his fangs. 'And nobody takes something away from the Chimera brothers.'   
  
Sesshoumaru stepped forward. 'I guess you have forgotten whom this castle belongs to.' he said with a calm voice. 'If you want the girl, you'll have to kill me first!!' Sesshoumaru unsheathed his sword and was ready to attack. Inuyasha also unsheathed his Tetsusaiga.   
  
[AN: No Tenseiga for Sesshoumaru, only his Toukijin (for those who doesn't know, it's another powerful sword).]  
  
The fight had begun. Inuyasha finally succeeded in killing one of the four demons with his Kaze no Kizu. But three was still a bit much for both of them.   
  
[AN: Here comes my explanation of this kind of youkai's ^-^:]  
Chimeras are very strong youkai's. They are huge beasts with 3 heads, one of an eagle, one of a snake and one of a dragon. Each head had its own elemental breath-attack: ice, poison and fire, respectively. *I have seen them in Final Fantasy 8, but I can't really remember the exact features so I used a bit of my imaginations ^-^* They have bodies that look like a crossbreed between a lion and an eagle, with four legs and wings. The head of an eagle is always the one talking, the other two only attacks.   
[End of explanation.]  
  
~*~*~*~   
  
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru became very exhausted after a long fight.  
  
'Die! Hanyou!!' the Chimera shouted as it breathed a huge ice storm at Inuyasha. He jumped away, but couldn't dodge it completely and his left arm and leg were frozen as he landed back on the ground.  
'Chikusou!!' Inuyasha gritted his teeth. 'I can't dodge the next attack like this!'  
  
At the same time, Inuyasha saw his brother being smashed against a wall. 'Dammit, I have underestimated you!' Sesshoumaru groaned as he tried to get back on his feet, with his sword as his support.   
Blood was coming from the corner of his mouth.  
  
'Hehehe, I'll be famous if I showed your head to the youkai's of the forest.' the biggest Chimera laughed.   
  
It suddenly pounced at Sesshoumaru, forcing him to fall on his back to the ground. 'There is no escape now, Sesshoumaru, now prepare to die!!' the Chimera raised its huge claw. _  
Damn, I can't believe I'm going to lost to this low-life_ Sesshoumaru cursed himself and closed his eyes to wait for his end.  
  
'Sesshoumaru!!' Inuyasha shouted, but he didn't have the time to worry about him right now. His own life was also in danger as he saw the Chimera dashing towards him. _Damn, I can't let them get to Kagome, but..._ He looked at his frozen arms and leg. _Chikusou... chikusou!!!_ Inuyasha closed his eyes. _Kagome..._   
  
Both Sesshoumaru's and Inuyasha's eyes shot open when they suddenly heard the loud cry of the Chimeras.   
Two streaks of light appeared out of nowhere and drilled the bodies of the Chimeras. When the lights faded, two arrows appeared on the spots where the streaks of light had hit.  
  
_These are..._ Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha thought at the same time and their gaze followed the origin of the streaks of light. Their eyes widened when they saw the person standing on the balcony.  
  
Black hair dancing in the wind; a pair of dark blue eyes filled with determination; a dark bow in one hand and the other preparing another arrow.  
  
_Kagome...???_ Inuyasha was surprised. _How did she..._ Sesshoumaru wondered at the same time but their thoughts were soon cut off by the roar of the remaining Chimera.  
  
'You bitch!! How dare you kill my brothers!! You will pay for this!!' the youkai shouted and its snakehead breathed a huge poisonous storm at Kagome.   
  
Without much effort, Kagome shot an arrow at the poison, causing it to split in two and dissolve in the air.   
  
'Cocky aren't we?' the Chimera said with a smirk. 'How about this!' And it breathed all three elemental attacks simultaneously, causing a huge antipode storm [AN: got this from the game called Chrono trigger, I don't own it!!].   
  
Kagome was shocked to see such huge power. _I-I can't move...my legs...somebody... help me!! _   
  
'Kagome!!' Inuyasha shouted as he broke the ice on his arm and leg with his Tetsusaiga and jumped on the balcony, landing between the storm and Kagome.   
  
'Stay behind me!' Inuyasha stood protectively in front of Kagome with Tetsusaiga in his hands; ready to counterattack.  
  
'Eat this!! Kaze no Kizu!!' Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga at the storm and huge blades of light appeared and flew towards it.  
  
'What the...!!' Inuyasha's eyes widened when he saw that his Kaze no Kizu cut through the storm. _It didn't stop the attack?!_   
  


* * *

Very exciting huh? What will happen to Inuyasha and Kagome? Will they survive the huge antipode storm? Look forward to the next chapter ^-^.  
  
**Next chapter:** The requiem of Life  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Youkai:** Demon  
**Arigatou: **Thank you  
**Tetsusaiga:** Sword used by Inuyasha, literally means 'Iron-Shattering-Fang'  
**Chikusou:** Damn/Shit!  
**Kaze no Kizu:** Special attack with Inuyasha's sword, Tetsusaiga, literally means 'Wind-of Wound' but it actually means the 'Wound of the Wind'.  
  
Please review after reading ^-^!! Hope you like the story so far! If you don't review I will lose motivation to continue... so if you don't want the story to stop halfway... please review, neh??  
  
Greets,  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 20 June 2003  
Last Edited: 24 June 2003 


	7. The Requiem of Life

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
**  
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_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**The requiem of Life**   
  


_No!!!!_ Kagome screamed in her mind and awoke. Sweat drops dripping off her chin. _W-where..._ She looked around and realized that she was in her bedroom of the castle again.  
  
It was already afternoon, but since the sun was blocked by the thick clouds, the light coming in de bedroom was very dim.  
  
When she tried to get up, her body hurt tremendously. _Itai... w-what happened..._ Kagome laid back down and closed her eyes. _The Chimeras were attacking the castle...and one used an antipode storm on me and..._   
  
[Flashback]  
'Kagome!!' Inuyasha shouted as he jumped on the balcony, landing between the storm and Kagome. 'Stay behind me!' Inuyasha stood protectively in front of Kagome with Tetsusaiga in his hands; ready to counterattack. 'Eat this!! Kaze no Kizu!!' Inuyasha swung his Tetsusaiga at the storm and huge blades of light appeared and flew towards it. 'What the...!!' Inuyasha's eyes widened when he saw that his Kaze no Kizu cut through the storm._ It didn't stop the attack?! _  
  
Inuyasha quickly turned around, his eyes filled with worry. _Chikusou...there's no time to dodge it together with Kagome!_ He gritted his teeth, but suddenly he could hear a voice in his mind again.  
_  
You have to get away! Don't worry about me! _  
  
Inuyasha looked down at Kagome. 'No way! There's no way I'm going to leave you behind!' he yelled and pulled Kagome in his arms in order to shield her from the attack.   
  
Kagome's eyes widened and struggled in his grip. _NOO!! Inuyasha!! You can't... you'll die... I don't want..._ Before she could finish, the storm hit them both and all became black for her.  
  
At the same time, the Kaze no Kizu hit the Chimera, leaving no trace of it behind in the courtyard.  
[End flashback]  
  
Kagome's eyes shot open. _Inuyasha!!!_ Ignoring the tremendous pain of her body, she got up; picked up a thin robe and ran to the hall. _  
  
Please... please be okay..._ Kagome thought as she ran through the halls.  
  
She stopped abruptly when a voice halted her.   
  
'You shouldn't be running around in your condition.' It was Sesshoumaru who spoke.   
Kagome was panting from the run as she looked up at Sesshoumaru, who was walked towards her.  
_  
I thought you were injured._ Kagome thought while scanning his body.   
  
'Unlike humans, youkais heal very quickly.' he responded to her questioning eyes.   
  
'You were looking for Inuyasha, am I right?' he asked. Kagome quickly nodded.   
  
'Follow me.' Sesshoumaru walked down the halls.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
'This is his room.' Sesshoumaru stopped by a door. 'I think he's resting at the moment.'   
  
When Kagome wanted to enter the room, Sesshoumaru quickly held her arm.   
  
'Kagome, be prepared and don't feel guilty about it.' he spoke.   
  
Kagome gave him a puzzled look.   
  
'As I told you before, unlike humans, the bodies of youkais heal themselves automatically. But since he's a hanyou...he might not recover from those severe wounds he has.' Sesshoumaru explained as he looked away.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened in shock. She then looked up at Sesshoumaru and gave him a small nod. With that, he let go of her arm and watched Kagome enter the room.  
  
-- In Inuyasha's room --  
  
Kagome closed the door behind her and looked around. His room was almost similar to hers, only the blue color was replaced by red.  
  
Kagome immediately noticed Inuyasha lying on the bed and she slowly walked to his side.  
  
Inuyasha was breathing heavily, as if he was lacking oxygen. His chest was bandaged and there were wounds and bruises everywhere.  
_  
I-I'm so sorry, Inuyasha, because of me... you... you..._ Kagome was crying, tears rolled down her cheeks as she knelt down by the bed. She picked up his hand and held it close to her. _  
  
Gomen nasai..._ A tear rolled to her chin and landed on Inuyasha's hand.   
  
'D-dare...?' Inuyasha whispered as he slowly opened his eyes.   
  
He noticed Kagome at the corner of his eye. 'K-Kagome?' Kagome looked up, her cheeks all wet of the tears.   
  
'Why are you crying?' Inuyasha whispered as he touched her cheek with the hand that Kagome was holding. _  
  
G-gomen nasai... Inuyasha._ he heard her sobbing is his mind.   
  
'You sound like I'm going to die...' Inuyasha forced an irritated look on his face but failed.   
  
'If it weren't for the poison that had entered my body, I wouldn't have such trouble to recover.' Inuyasha coughed.   
  
He looked at Kagome and forced a smile on his face. 'I-I guess hanyou's aren't that strong after all.'   
  
He dried her tears with his hand. 'Don't...cry, it's not...your...fault...' he slightly smiled and closed his eyes. 'B-be...s-strong...' His hand went limp and fell on the bed.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened. _NO!! Not again!!... I don't want to experience that again!!!_   
She begged in her mind. _I can't... I WON'T let you DIE!!! _  
  
With that Kagome stood up, her eyes filled with determination. Her Shikon no Tama began the glow. Kagome put her hands together and closed her eyes. _The power to heal, give me the power to heal... Shikon no Tama!! _She demanded in her mind.   
  
A white light surrounded her body. She opened her mouth in the hope that her determination could bring back her voice to her.  
  
~*~*~*~ At the same time ~*~*~*~  
  
After standing a while at the door, Sesshoumaru started to walk away. _  
  
What is this sorrowful feeling? _he thought while walking down the hall.   
  
Then he stopped when he suddenly heard a voice. _Coming from Inuyasha's room!?!_   
  
He quickly ran back to the door and listened. _Kagome is...singing... _he listened more carefully. _... a requiem!?_   
  
-- In Inuyasha's room --  
  
_Please let me save him. I know I have the power to do that..._   
  
A soft voice could be heard in the room.   
  
'Ano...umi...e...'  
[AN: This song is called 'Solitude' and it's sung by Akino Arai. Don't mind the lyrics, I'm only borrowing it for the melody ^-^ I don't OWN it!! But I really really like this song!]  
  
_My voice!! It has come back to me!!_ Kagome thought relieved and she continued to sing.  
  
'tsuzu...ku...michi...tada kuru...ma wo... hashira...seru...'  
  
Suddenly Inuyasha's body was also surrounded by white light. A purple damp came out of his body; it was pushing out the poison; spots of blood disappeared and the bruises were starting to heal itself.  
  
This time, Kagome wasn't floating in the air as she used her powers. _T-this is hard...I-I guess I'm just a novice...b-but...I've got to save Inuyasha, at all costs!!_   
  
Kagome opened her eyes slightly. _G-good...the poison is being pushed out._ She thought relieved and closed her eyes again to concentrate.  
  
_What is this warm feeling?_ Inuyasha thought as he slightly opened his eyes. _Am I d-dead? _ he thought when he saw his body being surrounded by light.   
  
Then he noticed someone standing next to the bed, also surrounded by the same light. _Kagome..._ His eyes widened. _She's s-singing!? _ He continued to stare at her; her eyes were closed and her long black hair was floating a little above her shoulders.  
  
'anata ga... ita... ano... umi... e...'  
  
The song had ended and the light around Kagome and Inuyasha was starting to disappear.   
  
Kagome slowly opened her eyes, only to look in those beautiful golden orbs that were locked on her dark blue ones.  
  
A teardrop appeared on her cheek as she gave Inuyasha a relieved look. 'Yokatta...' she whispered before she closed her eyes and started to fall forwards.  
  
'Kagome!' Inuyasha quickly sat up and caught her before she fell on his lap. 'Kagome!! Wake up!! Open your eyes!' he shouted as he turned her face to him. _She's still breathing..._ he thought relieved and watched Kagome's sleeping face in his embrace. _   
  
You've saved my life..._ He slightly smiled and lowered his head. Inuyasha placed a soft kiss on her forehead. _Arigatou..._   
  
~*~*~*~ After a while ~*~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha walked out of his room and closed the door behind him. Then he noticed Sesshoumaru approaching and quickly turned to him. 'We need to talk.' was the only thing he said before he turned around and walked away. Inuyasha followed him.   
  


* * *

**Next chapter:** An obsessive admirer  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Itai...:** Ouch  
**Chikusou:** Shit/damn  
**Hanyou:** half-demon  
**Dare...?:** Who's there?  
**Gomen nasai:** I'm sorry  
**Yokatta:** I'm glad/relieved  
**Arigatou:** Thank you  
  
Sorry about the short length of this chapter, I promise the next one will be MUCH longer okay? ^-^  
Please!! Read and review oki?  
  
Lots of greets,  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 24 June 2003 


	8. An obsessive admirer

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   


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_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**An obsessive admirer**   
  


**Previously:** _You've saved my life..._ He slightly smiled and lowered his head. Inuyasha placed a soft kiss on her forehead. _Arigatou..._ Inuyasha walked out of his room and closed the door behind him. Then he noticed Sesshoumaru approaching and quickly turned to him. 'We need to talk.' was the only thing he said before he turned around and walked away. Inuyasha followed him.   
  
~*~*~*~ The next morning ~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome opened her eyes. 'W-where am I?' she mumbled as she slowly sat up. _My body feels so heavy..._   
  
Kagome suddenly realized something and touched her throat. _M-my voice...I can talk again!!_   
  
Kagome looked around and realized that she was in Inuyasha's room. 'Ehh!? Y-yesterday... ah I remember again, Inuyasha was severely wounded and I... I used my powers to save him.' she said to herself.  
  
She quickly got out of her bed and walked to the door. _I wonder how Inuyasha's doing._ She thought as she opened the door. She was shocked to see Inuyasha at the doorway.   
  
'I-Inuyasha!' she stuttered.  
  
'Oi! Sleepwalking???' he said coldly.   
  
Kagome noticed that he was holding something and looked down. He was holding a tray with a bowl of warm liquid on it.   
  
'Oh, gomen!' She quickly stepped aside and watched him enter the room. He put the tray on a table near the bed and turned to look at Kagome, who was still standing near the door.   
  
'What are you standing there for!?' he snarled and turned to the table with his back to Kagome. 'The medicine will get cold you know...'  
  
Kagome understood and walked to the table. She gently picked up the bowl.   
  
'Y-you made this for me?' she asked as she was looking at Inuyasha. Their eyes made contact but it was broken immediately when Inuyasha looked away in order to hide his red cheeks.   
  
'Ahh...I thought you might need it to recover from your exhaustion.'  
  
Kagome nodded and smiled gently as she sat down on the bed and drank the medicine.  
  
'Kagome...' he suddenly started.  
  
Kagome looked up. 'What is it?'  
  
'How is it that you possess such power?' he asked. 'How come you can use your voice to heal my wounds?'   
  
Kagome became silent for a while. 'I...' she started. 'I don't really know. All I know is that I was born with the ability to use my voice to control this.' She held the Shikon no Tama in her hand, which was attached to a necklace around her neck.   
  
'How come you didn't use it before?' Inuyasha asked.  
  
'Well...you see... I had lost my voice before I came to this world.' She quickly put her hand on her mouth, but Inuyasha already heard the last part of her sentence.  
  
'This...world?' Inuyasha gave her a puzzled look. 'You're...not from this world?'  
  
'You might not believe it...but I...I came here through a well.' she explained. 'Someone dear to me told me that my destiny lied in this world.' Her eyes filled with sadness.   
  
_Unbelievable...this girl came from another world...? _Inuyasha thought amazed. _She lost her voice before she came here...but it doesn't make sense... how was she able to heal my wounds with her voice if she had lost it?_  
  
'When you were lying on your bed with those severe wounds,' she continued, as if she knew what Inuyasha was thinking. 'I...I prayed that my voice would come back, so that I can save you.' She looked up at him. 'I-I don't want anybody to die in front of my eyes anymore...' Her eyes filled with tears.  
  
_Oh my god...she's going to cry...I made her cry?_ 'Y-you should drink up your medicine...it's really getting cold now...' Inuyasha suddenly spoke. Kagome nodded and began to drink her medicine again.  
  
Inuyasha didn't quite understand what she meant by her last sentence, but he hated to see girls cry so he decided not to question her anymore for now.  
  
Inuyasha watched Kagome drink her medicine. His expression became a bit serious as he remembered what Sesshoumaru told him yesterday.  
  
[Flashback]  
'I'm going away for a while, to gather information about her and her mysterious powers. In the meantime, do not do anything rash and protect her with everything you got in you.' Sesshoumaru turned to Inuyasha.   
  
'I can't tell you anything at the moment, because I haven't determined the truth yet. Take care, Inuyasha.' Inuyasha nodded and watched Sesshoumaru jump from the balcony into the forest.  
[End flashback]  
  
[AN: OH, I forgot to tell you guys, in this story, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are still half-brothers but they don't see themselves that way AND they don't hate each other^-^. But I guess you've already found out huh?]  
  
Kagome finished her medicine and noticed the serious expression on his face.   
  
'Inuyasha?'   
  
Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts and saw the worried look on Kagome's face. 'Oh...euhm...nothing, I was just...' he stuttered.  
  
'Gomen nasai...' Kagome suddenly whispered as she looked down and her bangs covering her eyes a little.   
  
Inuyasha was surprised by her sudden apology.   
  
'Hontou ni...gomen nasai,' she continued, 'if I had listen to you, you wouldn't end up protecting me.' she sobbed.   
  
'If I had only stayed in the weapon room, you wouldn't end up severely wounded, you... you wouldn't...' Tears fell on her hands that were holding the bowl and resting on her lap.   
  
Without second thought, Inuyasha suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace.   
One hand resting on the back of her head and the other still holding her wrist. Her head was resting on his chest and his chin rested on her head.   
  
The bowl fell on the floor and shattered.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened as she found herself in Inuyasha's arms.   
  
'Inuy...' she was cut off by Inuyasha's loud voice.   
  
'What the hell are you apologizing for!!' he held her closer.   
  
'I...I should be the one thanking you for saving my life...twice...' His voice became gradually gentler.   
  
'You have risked your life to save me with your arrows.' He gently stroked her hair. 'And you haven't even hesitated before exhausting yourself in order to save my life.'  
  
He pulled away to look into her eyes. 'Dakara... mou nakanaide.' he released her wrist and used his hand to dry her tears.   
  
A smile appeared on her face. 'Arigatou...' and she leaned onto his chest.   
  
  
  
~*~*~*~ Later ~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome was sitting on the balustrade of the balcony, facing the courtyard; the one where she had shot her arrows.   
  
'What are you looking at?' Inuyasha asked as he sat down next to her.   
  
'Was it always like this?' she asked.   
  
'You mean the courtyard?'   
  
Kagome nodded. 'Partly, but yes.'  
  
Inuyasha sighed. 'This used to be a beautiful courtyard, filled with colorful flowers and trees.' He pointed at the fountain at the center of the courtyard, which was covered with dead moss.   
  
'Pure water used to fill that fountain, but now it's dried up.' he explained. 'This world used to be very beautiful, until one day, dark clouds began to cover this whole world and blocked the sun.' he continued. After that, plants and trees and living creatures began to die...' Inuyasha became silent.  
  
Kagome looked at him and saw the sadness in his eyes. _I don't want to see him sad..._ She thought and suddenly decided something and stood up.   
  
Inuyasha looked up at her, a puzzled look on his face.  
  
'Inuyasha, I want you to close your eyes.' she smiled. 'And do NOT open them until I say so, okay?'  
He slightly nodded and did as he was told.  
  
Kagome faced the courtyard and put her hands together. _This should work. After drinking the medicine, I have recovered almost completely. _  
  
She thought as she closed her eyes.  
  
And Kagome began to hum a melody. Inuyasha's ears twitched a little as he heard the melody. _  
  
She's singing again...what a soothing melody. _He thought, keeping his eyes shut.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The melody reached its end and all was silent except for some water sounds.  
  
'Okay! You can open your eyes now!' Kagome said happily. Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes and just couldn't believe what he saw. He was astonished.  
  
The courtyard was back to its original shape again. It was filled with colorful flowers and green trees and plants, butterflies where flying from flower to flower. The fountain was filled with clear blue water.   
  
'This...this can't be happening, I must be dreaming!!' Inuyasha exclaimed as he turned to Kagome, she only smiled.   
  
'Can you get us both down to the courtyard? I want to show you something.'  
  
He nodded and stood up, put an arm around her waist and jumped off the balcony into the courtyard.  
  
He landed softly on the grass and gently put Kagome on her feet.   
  
Kagome looked around and stopped as she saw a dead butterfly lying on the green grass. She walked towards it, carefully picked it up and walked back to Inuyasha.   
  
She held her hand with the butterfly in front of him. 'Look.' she said.  
  
'It's dead.' Inuyasha stated plainly.   
  
Kagome put her other hand over it, covering the butterfly and closed her eyes. After a couple of seconds, she opened them again and looked at Inuyasha.  
  
'Now look again, carefully.' she smiled.  
  
Inuyasha watched her move her hand away and quickly took a step backwards as the butterfly flew towards Inuyasha and then up to the air. 'Wha..!!' He quickly turned to Kagome.  
  
She smiled. 'Consider this my way of thanking you for your gift and for protecting me yesterday.'  
  
Inuyasha gave her an astonished look. _This girl...who is she exactly? She's truly mysterious... _he thought and an expression of doubt appeared on his face as he watched her running after the revived butterfly.   
  
'Ne... Kagome?' Inuyasha suddenly started after a moment of silence. Kagome stopped chasing the butterfly and turned to Inuyasha.  
  
'Nani?' she asked, slightly panting as she smiled at Inuyasha.  
  
'I have been wanting to ask you this for a while...' he turned to her. 'Why weren't you able to talk or sing before?'  
  
'Euhm...well...I told you, I lost my voice...' Kagome's smile disappeared and sadness filled her eyes before she looked away.  
  
'Yeah, I know that...but why? Did something happen causing you to lose it?' Inuyasha asked.  
  
Then a moment of silence filled the courtyard.  
  
'I...' she stuttered. _ Can I overcome the past and tell him about it?_ she thought.  
  
Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Yes...I can... I can share my past with Inuyasha..._   
  
Kagome opened her eyes and turned to Inuyasha. She had already opened her mouth to tell him the reason. 'It's b...' Before she could even start her story, her voice was already cut off by Inuyasha's irritated voice.  
  
'You know what! Never mind!! I don't even want to know!!' he yelled. He turned around and left the courtyard.  
  
Kagome watched Inuyasha leave the courtyard. _ Oh well... impatient as always...I guess I'll tell him when he asks again._ She slightly smiled.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~ A couple of days later ~*~*~*~  
  
'Hey Inuyasha!' Kagome called as she ran to Inuyasha's side, who was sitting on the edge of the fountain.  
  
Inuyasha looked up as he heard his name. 'Oh...hey Kagome, what's up?'  
  
She sat next to him. She was holding the bow Inuyasha gave her as a gift. She pointed at the string. 'Don't you think the string is a bit weak for this bow?'   
  
He looked annoyed. 'Are you saying that my hair is weak?'   
  
Kagome quickly shook her head. 'No, no! It's not that, what I'm trying to say is that this string is a bit old so it might be better if I renewed the string...'   
  
Without any warning, Kagome just pulled out a string of hair of Inuyasha's head. 'OUCH!!' What the hell...!?!' Inuyasha cried.   
  
'Gomen nasai!! Did it hurt much? I thought it wouldn't hurt that much if it's suddenly pulled out without warning.' Kagome apologized.  
  
'Well, now you know it's NOT TRUE!!' He yelled and turned away from Kagome.  
  
He suddenly felt something warm touching his head, and then he realized it was Kagome's hand. She was rubbing the spot where she pulled out the hair. 'I'm really sorry.' She apologized again.  
  
'It's okay...' Inuyasha said. He was almost getting too comfortable from the rubbing but quickly shook off the idea, and turned to Kagome again.  
  
'Ne Inuyasha?' She asked again, looking at the long silver string of hair in her hand.  
  
'What is it?'  
  
'One string is a bit lonely don't you think?' She slightly blushed.   
  
'What do you mean?' Inuyasha was puzzled.  
  
'I meant that the bow would be stronger if more strings were used for connecting the two ends.' She explained.  
  
Inuyasha quickly jumped up, his hands were protectively holding his hair. 'You're not going to pull more hair out of my head are you?!?!'  
  
'No, of course not!' She looked up at Inuyasha, who was standing about 5 feet away. She blushed again. 'I meant...'  
  
'Then what? Just say it already!!' He said, his voice sounded very irritated and impatient.  
  
Kagome looked away, slightly disappointed about his attitude. 'Never mind...'  
  
'Feh, whatever!' Inuyasha turned away and left the courtyard, leaving Kagome behind, who was still sitting on the edge of the fountain.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Two weeks had passed and Sesshoumaru still hadn't returned. And Inuyasha was still pondering about Kagome's powers. He was sitting on his chair in his room, with his eyes closed; silently listening to the song that Kagome was singing on her balcony.   
  
'I'm going to make this world a better place for you.' Inuyasha remembered her words before she had decided to sing everyday to heal this world.  
  
Although Inuyasha liked Kagome's voice and her songs, he was in fact a bit scared of her mysterious powers. He only hoped that his brother would return soon and take away his doubts.  
  
His ears twitched and he opened his eyes when Kagome suddenly stopped singing in the middle of the song.   
  
'Who... who are you? Stay away from me!! I-Inuyasha!!'  
  
Inuyasha quickly jumped up and dashed from his room to Kagome's. 'Kagome!' Inuyasha shouted as he kicked the door open.   
  
The scene he saw made his blood boil in anger. A familiar wolf youkai had pinned Kagome to a wall and he was holding both her wrists above her. He didn't seem to notice Inuyasha at the doorway.  
  
'So pretty girl, what do you think? We make a good couple, don't we?' He started to lean closer to her.   
'Leave me alone! Let me go!!' she yelled as she continued to struggle under his grip.   
  
'Kouga!! Get the fuck away from her!!' Inuyasha shouted as he pulled out Tetsusaiga.  
  
'Interrupting me as always, dogturd.' Kouga growled as he released his grip on Kagome's wrists.  
'Inuyasha!' Kagome cried as she ran to him. She buried her head in his clothes and he put his free arm around her protectively.  
  
Inuyasha felt Kagome's body was trembling in his arms and growled at Kouga. _The bastard, frightening Kagome like that, he's gonna pay for this!!_  
  
'I see... you win today Inuyasha.' Kouga smirked and whistled. A black dragon appeared and landed on the balcony. 'Next time, I will definitely make her mind!' he shouted as he jumped onto the dragon, and flew away.  
  
'Kagome, are you okay?' He pulled away from Kagome to look at her. 'H-hai...just a bit shocked, that's all.' Kagome loosened her grip on his clothes and looked at the balcony. 'Who was that?'  
  
'That was Kouga, prince of the wolf tribe. The bastard always claims everything as his property when he like it.' he growled. He turned to Kagome. 'I rather not have you singing anymore, it might just attract more youkais to this castle.' he said coldly.  
  
'But I thought you liked it, and how am I going to heal this land for you if I had to stop singing?' Kagome looked up at Inuyasha.   
  
He avoided her gaze. _What am I saying? She's only singing for my happiness and I have to be so ungrateful? _He shook his head. _It's for her own good. _He reassured himself.  
  
'I understand...' she said after a short silence and turned around. 'It's getting late now, and I'm tired, could you close the door behind you after you leave?' she said with a cold tone.  
  
Inuyasha was shocked to hear her cold voice for the first time. 'Kagome...I...'  
  
Kagome turned around and looked at him. 'Please?' Her eyes were filled with disappointment. After seeing those emotions, Inuyasha left the room obediently.   
  
After the door was closed. Kagome let herself fall on her bed. _I thought we became closer...I guess I'm a baka for thinking that way..._   
  
She turned her body so that she was lying on her back and looked at the ceiling. _What is this uneasy feeling? Why does my heart ache so much when he didn't answer my question?_ She thought before falling into a deep sleep.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~ Later that evening ~*~*~*~  
  
--At Inuyasha's room--  
  
Inuyasha was standing on his balcony, watching the sky. _The sky is really clear tonight; it has been a long time since I have actually seen stars._   
  
He looked at Kagome's room. _It's all thanks to her. With her voice, she is healing this world little by little. Why did I have to say those ungrateful words to her today...?'   
  
Why am I feeling so guilty?_ He wondered.  
  
'I guess I should apologize to her.' he said to himself and jumped from his balcony to that of her room. He softly landed on the balcony.   
  
'Kagome?' he whispered, not wanting to scare her. He walked to her bed.   
  
'What the...?!' Inuyasha realized the bed was empty. He sniffed around and gritted his teeth. 'Kouga...'  
  
He quickly ran to the balcony and called for his dragon. A red dragon appeared and landed in front of him. He jumped on its back.   
  
'Go! To the forest!' he commanded and the dragon departed for the East.  
  
-- Somewhere in the forest--  
  
Kagome slowly opened her eyes. _Why am I feeling so dizzy?_ Her eyes shot open as she realized that she wasn't in her room anymore. Kagome was tied to a pillar, with her hands behind her; her feet were also tied together. She looked around. _This looks like a cave._   
  
'Ah, you're finally awake, my dearest.' Kouga appeared in the cave and walked towards her.  
  
'What the hell do you think you're doing!? Kidnapping me like this!!' she yelled.  
  
'I'm only claiming something that's meant for me to have.' he laughed as he leaned closer to Kagome's face. 'Nothing personal, but since you're so pretty and untouched,' he grabbed her chin. 'I'd have to make a sample of you.'  
  
'Lay one finger on me and I will bite through my tongue!' Kagome snarled and gritted her teeth. 'I rather die than have your filthy hands touching me!'   
  
'Well, well, well, feisty aren't we?' Kouga took a step backwards and pulled out his sword that was hanging around his waist.  
  
-- Outside the cave, at some distance up in the sky --  
  
_Kagome, where could you be?_ Inuyasha thought, looking over the forest from above. _She is definitely somewhere around here, since her scent here is the strongest. _  
  
Then he suddenly heard a cry coming from the forest. _The smell of blood!!_ Inuyasha jumped off his dragon and ran to the origin of the cry. _Kagome's blood!!_   
  
-- Back in the cave --  
  
Blood was dripping on the floor from Kagome's arm. A long red gash could be seen on her upper arm, from her shoulder to her elbow.  
  
'If I can't have you,' Kouga growled frustrated as he raised his sword above his head, ready to strike. 'then nobody can!!!' He swung his sword at Kagome.   
  
Inuyasha ran through the forest. _Kagome, please be save!!_   
  
Kagome closed her eyes. _This is the end for me... goodbye Inuyasha, goodbye Sesshoumaru... _   
  
A clash could be heard throughout the cave.  
  


* * *

What a cliffhanger huh? Will Inuyasha make it in time? Please look forward to the next chapter: The Prophecy  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Ahh...:** Yeah...  
**Gomen (nasai):** I'm sorry  
**Hontou ni:** Really  
**Dakara:** That's why  
**Mou nakanaide:** I got this from a lyric ^-^, it means 'Don't cry anymore'  
**Arigatou:** Thank you  
**Ne...Kagome?:** Hey/Euhm...Kagome? I don't really know how to translate it... if this word is said at the beginning of a sentence, it kind of means : hey of euhm...something to draw someone's attention.   
**Hai...:** Yeah...  
**Baka:** Idiot  
**Nani?:** What is it?  
  
Like it so far? Want it to continue? Then please review!! Without review... I will definitely lose inspiration and motivation to continue this story, so please ^-^!! The more reviews, the sooner I will post the next chapter!!  
Lots of greets,  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 26 June 2003  
Last edited: 26 June 2003 


	9. The Prophecy

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on Reviews:**  
**kimmy:** Hey thanks for reviewing!!  
  
**InuKagStar:** Thanks!! I won't lose motivation or inspiration as long as people keep reviewing!  
  
**silver wolf:** It depends on whether people review my story or not ^-^!!  
  
**To all:** Hey guys!! For those who are a bit confused about Kagome's age, she is about 15 years old now ^-^! And don't worry, I already have finished the whole story and have it on my desk right now, but I just haven't put it on the computer yet. Anyway it REALLY depends on the amount of reviews whether I post the chapters on ff.net fast or slow.  
  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**The Prophecy**   
  


**Previously: **'If I can't have you,' Kouga growled frustrated as he raised his sword above his head, ready to strike. 'then nobody can!!!' He swung his sword at Kagome. Inuyasha ran through the forest. _Kagome, please be save!! _ Kagome closed her eyes. _This is the end for me... goodbye Inuyasha, goodbye Sesshoumaru... _ A clash could be heard throughout the cave.  
  
When nothing happened, Kagome opened her eyes. Her eyes widened.  
  
Sesshoumaru was standing in front of Kagome and blocking Kouga's attack with his Toukijin.   
  
'S-Sesshoumaru?!' Kagome was surprised. _Where is Inuyasha?_   
  
'Hah! It's the dogturd's brother, you don't scare me!!' Kouga smirked as he put more weight on his sword.  
  
[AN: Since this story isn't related to the storyline of the original series, Sesshoumaru still has two arms ^-^]  
  
Sesshoumaru suddenly dug his poison claw unexpectedly through Kouga's body. 'I thought it was clear to you low-lives that she is under my protection.' He pulled out his hand and Kouga collapsed to the floor.  
  
He turned to Kagome, who was still bleeding. Without saying anything, he untied his yellow sash (which was tied around his armor) and wound it around her upper arm.   
  
'This will hurt.' He warned as he suddenly pulled it tight. Kagome winced but didn't scream out of pain.  
  
'Kagome!!!' Inuyasha's voice could be heard though the cave.   
  
When he arrived at the spot, Sesshoumaru was already carrying Kagome in his arms and planning to leave the area.  
Inuyasha noticed Kouga's body lying on the floor.   
  
'Sesshoumaru, you saved Kagome?' Inuyasha looked at Kagome, but she avoided his gaze and leaned her head against Sesshoumaru's chest; closing her eyes.  
  
Sesshoumaru noticed this. 'Inuyasha, Kagome is wounded, we should return to the castle.' he said to break the tension between the two.   
  
He started to walk out of the cave.  
Inuyasha nodded and followed Sesshoumaru.  
  
~*~*~*~   
  
Back at the castle, Sesshoumaru tended Kagome's wound and brought her to her room. He left the room after Kagome fell asleep.  
  
Inuyasha was standing in the hall near her room. 'How is she?' he asked her brother as he came out of her room.  
  
'Asleep.' Sesshoumaru answered. After a short silence, he turned to Inuyasha. 'What had happened when I was away?' he asked, knowing that there was something not right between her brother and Kagome.  
  
Knowing that he could not escape this question, Inuyasha began telling everything from the moment Sesshoumaru left the castle.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
'I see...' Sesshoumaru responded after hearing the whole story.  
  
At the same time, Kagome had awakened from her sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up, her head leaning against the wall. _Oh right, Sesshoumaru rescued me and carried me here...he also bandaged my arm. _  
  
She touched her wounded arm. _Why isn't he coming to see me? Doesn't he care about me?_ She clutched her heart. _  
  
Why does my heart hurt so much when I think about him..._ Kagome suddenly stopped thinking when she heard Sesshoumaru's voice coming from the hall.  
  
'Are you having feelings for her?'  
  
_Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha? _Kagome thought as she silently got out of bed and sat down near the door to follow their conversation.  
  
'What did you find out about her?' Inuyasha asked, not knowing why he was trying to change the subject. He only knew that he couldn't answer the question.  
  
'After hearing your story, I'm definitely sure that the information that I've gathered is true.' Sesshoumaru leaned against a wall. 'During my travel, I've found out about a very interesting prophecy.'  
  
_Are they talking about me? _Kagome thought as she continued to eavesdrop.  
  
'The prophecy goes like this:' Sesshoumaru continued.  
  
With a Serenade, she can control the waters of protection.  
With a Requiem, she can heal the wounds of death.  
With a Nocturne, she can soothe the earth of destruction.  
With a Prelude, she can clear the skies of hope.  
  
When this world is on the verge of dying, a maiden of another world will appear.  
With the voice of four souls, she possesses the power to change the future of this land.  
  
'That must be Kagome, I knew she was different.' Inuyasha interrupted.  
  
'The prophecy doesn't stop here, it's the following part that worries me.' he continued.  
  
A duet will be sung, side-by-side.  
Hate will compose the songs the Death and Destruction.  
Love will bare the tones of Life and Healing.  
Only a solo shall survive...  
Unless...  
  
_They're really talking about me...this prophecy...a duet? What does it mean?_ Kagome wondered.  
  
'Unless...what?' Inuyasha asked.  
  
'Unfortunately, the prophecy stopped here.' Sesshoumaru looked outside the window. 'Despite my efforts, the prophecy was too old to be remembered by people of this world.'  
  
'But what does the lower part mean? Inuyasha thought out loud. Sesshoumaru turned at looked at him. 'Inuyasha, I'll ask you one more time. Are you having feelings for Kagome?'  
  
Inuyasha was shocked to be confronted by that question again. 'I...euhm...' he stuttered. _Dammit, why is he suddenly asking me that question? I don't even know it myself!_   
  
'Answer me!!' he demanded.  
  
'No, I don't have any feelings for Kagome.' Inuyasha finally answered. 'I'm only protecting her because you told me to and because she's the one who can save our world.'  
  
'I see...' Were the only words Sesshoumaru spoke before he walked away; down the halls.   
  
Inuyasha just stood there for a moment. _Am I really feeling nothing towards her? Then what's this uneasy feeling in my heart?_ He started to walk away to his own room. _I worry too much... I should stop thinking about this..._   
  
-- Inside Kagome's room --  
  
Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her head leaned against the wall. Her hand clutched her heart. _M-my heart...aches. T-this pain is killing me._ Kagome walked to the balcony, she looked at the clear sky. _When did I start caring about him so much?_ She was crying. _But it doesn't matter...I can't stay here anymore... _She climbed on the balustrade of the balcony and jumped into the forest.  
  
Inuyasha's words were still repeating themselves in her mind.   
  
'I'm only protecting her ... because she's the one who will save our world...because you told me so...'  
  
It was stabbing Kagome's heart like knives, over and over again as she ran through the forest. _I have to run as fast as I can, before the sun rises again._   
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome was tired of running after a while and sat down, leaning against a tree. _A-am I just a tool?_ She buried her head in her arms, which were resting on her knees, sobbing.  
  
'I've finally found you...' A man appeared in front of her. Kagome quickly looked up, her eyes widened.  
The man wore a baboon pelt that covered the lower half of his body. She quickly stood up. 'Naraku!!!'  
  
'Glad you still remember me, for there hasn't been a single day that I have forgotten about you, since you disappeared in the well.' Naraku approached her.  
Kagome wanted to run away, but she stopped as Naraku spoke again.  
  
'Run? Where to? Surely, you're not planning to go back to the castle, are you?' He chuckled.  
Kagome collapsed to her knees. _He's right, I don't have any place to go now...not after...'_ She clutched her heart.   
  
'It hurts, doesn't it?' Naraku knelt beside her. 'I can take it away for you, if you want.'   
Kagome looked up at him. 'Why would you...you murderer!' She spat in disgust.  
'Because I need you, my dear Kagome.' he touched her hand. 'I need you by my side, as my queen.'  
  
Kagome hesitated, but quickly jerked her hand away. 'You lie!! You only need me for my powers. You're just as hateful as they are!!' she yelled, covering her face with her hands and started to cry again.  
  
'Well, suit yourself.' Naraku stood up and started to walk away. 'I'm not the one suffering a heartache at the moment. I can wait another 2000 years for my chance to come.' Naraku looked over his shoulder at Kagome. 'The question is rather...can you bear the pain for the rest of your life?' With this he turned his head and continued to walk away.  
  
_'Why don't you accept his offer?_ A voice spoke to Kagome's mind. _  
  
_'Dare...?' Kagome asked.  
  
_Well, let's just say, your other self is talking to you...don't change the subject...why don't you just accept Naraku's offer?_ The voice continued.  
  
'I-I can't...he'll use my powers for evil purposes. This world will not be spared and Inuyasha...' Kagome couldn't finish her sentence.  
  
_ Who cares what happens to this world. You were only healing it to make him happy, but he isn't grateful at all and look what he has done to you!!   
Look girl, you have suffered enough already. Why don't you rest for a while and let me OUT already!!_ _  
_Kagome became silent. She clutched her heart again. 'It hurts... it really hurts'  
  
_Dakara... I'm telling you to accept his offer!!  
  
_Kagome turned to look at Naraku, who had almost disappeared into the forest. 'W-wait.' Kagome suddenly spoke. Naraku stopped walking and turned around.   
Kagome slowly stood up and walked towards him. _Please forgive me... I just want this pain to stop._ She stood still in front of Naraku. 'I...I accept your offer.' She looked into his eyes.  
  
'Good... you've made up your mind, now close your eyes.' He slightly smiled. Kagome did as she was told.  
  
Naraku slowly leaned closer to her and suddenly placed his lips on hers.   
  
Kagome's eyes shot wide open in shock and raised her hands to his chest to push him away but her body went limp before she could do so and her hands rested on his chest.   
  
Her eyes slowly closed again.  
  
-- In Kagome's mind --  
  
All became dark in Kagome's mind. Kagome fell on her knees. 'Why...why doest my body feels so heavy?' She collapsed to the floor. 'T-the pain...finally...stopped...' She mumbled before she fell into a deep, deep sleep.  
  
A shadow appeared out of the darkness. 'Rest, my dear Kagome, you have already suffered too much.' the shadow spoke as it approached Kagome.   
The shadow came into the light and became visible.  
  
It turned out to be Kagome herself, but she looked different than the one who's lying on the floor. This Kagome looked a lot more confident, almost evil if you looked more closely. She was dressed in a long pitch-black gown.  
  
The most distinct feature lay in her eyes. They were gray now, with slit pupils, like a cat. She smirked.  
  
'I have slept for 15 long years already.' She stretched her arms. 'Now it's payback time...'  
  
[AN: As you can see, Kagome has two different personalities. I have represented these personalities with two different Kagome's in her mind. This also explains why Inuyasha could hear her talking to his mind. It was actually the Kagome in her mind who was talking to him ^-^... I hope you're not confused...]  
  
-- Back to the real world --  
  
As Naraku pulled away from the kiss, Kagome's body collapsed to his chest. She was unconscious.  
'Kukuku, she's mind now, finally mine...!!' Naraku chuckled, as he looked at the Shikon no Tama that Kagome wore around her neck.   
  
It was completely black...  
  
-- At the castle --  
  
'Kagome!!' Inuyasha cried as he shot up from his bed. Sweat drops flowed on his forehead. He panted heavily as he wiped his forehead. _  
  
What is this ominous feeling?_ Inuyasha thought as he clutched his heart.  
  


* * *

Oeeeeeehhhh, what will happen next? What will de alternate Kagome do after she woke up from her 15 years of sleep and is now finally in charge of Kagome's body and mind? Look forward to the next chapter: The dark Kagome  
  
**PS:** I have two big test coming up the coming week so I can't post the next chapter before 4th July, unless I get 50+ reviews... I think I'll make an exception and post it right away ^-^!! No I'm serious... if you readers manage to give me 50+ reviews (not all from the same reviewer!!) I will post 'The dark Kagome' right away!! I will definitely keep my word. Not too hard I guess... since it's already 33 at the moment ^-^!  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Dare...?:** Who is it?  
**Dakara...:** That's why...  
  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Please review!! Without reviews... I won't continue this story... I will lose inspiration... I will lose motivation... I will... *begging on her knees* pleeeeeaaaassseee review... pretty pretty please !! ^-^  
The more the better!! The more the sooner I will post next chapter!!  
  
  
You know... I'm really wondering how many people have been following or reading my story... since not everybody is likely to review after reading... because if this one is attracting a lot of readers, I might consider writing a Sess/Kag story.   
Euhm... since I'm not good at lemon, I won't write lemon fics. I'm still a beginner you see... *blushes*. But I will read more fics to improve myself!  
  
Lots of greets,  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 29 June 2003  
Last Edited: 29 June 2003 


	10. The dark Kagome

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on reviews:**  
  
**ALL:** Oh my god!! I've never thought I would really get over 50 reviews THAT SOON!! Well, as I have promised, here is the next chapter, have fun reading!!   
  
**lunemangelus:** Thanks for reviewing! But I guess you should read all chapters first before reviewing, because most questions can be answered after you've passed a couple of chapters.  
  
**Anime-Girl:** Thanks a lot!! Don't worry, I just get busy this week, but I will finish this story!  
  
**vegito044: **Wow!! Thank you very much!!  
  
**apple sauce:** Hahaha, well since you guys have managed to get me more than 50 reviews, here's the next chapter!! Enjoy it!  
  
**laura:** Thanks!! I'll update as soon as I've set the chapter in my computer.  
  
**CahadrasMoonShine:** Hahaha well.. I don't like Naraku either, but since he's the only worst bad guy of the series I'll have to use him ^-^!! Don't worry... he's... *mpppffhhh [puts hand on mouth].... oops almost revealed things I shouldn't!!...pfew...*  
  
**cherry-sama:** Thanks thanks! Don't worry, I'll update as soon as possible!  
  
**Anime Fan:** Hi! Thanks for reviewing! About the idea... well nothing personal and no offence but I don't really know much about Shippou's past and about himself (hahaha I know that's your point about me writing a story about him) so I don't really know HOW to write a story about him. But you know what? If I manage to discover a plot that fits him, I'll be surely to write a story about him ^-^!  
  
**Madmoomoos:** Thanks! But I'm sorry to disappoint you, in chapter 5 I've said in my Author's Notes that I won't be putting Kirara, Shippou, Miroku or Sango in this story, because I can't find a fitting role for them in my story. So this a story only consisting the characters Kikyou, Kagome (and her family), Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru and Naraku and a little bit of Kouga. I'm just a beginner so I haven't really managed to write a story with all characters in it...a bit too noisy I think. Hope you'll still continue reading and reviewing this story after knowing this ^-^!  
  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**The dark Kagome**   
  


~*~*~*~ Morning again ~*~*~*~

'Sesshoumaru!!' Inuyasha yelled as he slammed the door open of Sesshoumaru's room.  
  
'Can't you knock?' Sesshoumaru snarled.  
  
'She's gone!' Inuyasha voice filled with despair.  
  
'Who?' he frowned.  
  
'Kagome! Kagome is not in the castle anymore!'  
  
Sesshoumaru stood up and walked to the window. 'I know, a servant told me.'  
  
'Then what are you standing there for!!' Let's go find her!' He shouted.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned around, his face as calm as always. 'Where? A servant told me that she jumped from her balcony into the forest.'  
  
'I don't care!! She could be in danger right now!'  
  
'Well, I'm not stopping you.' he responded. And Inuyasha ran out of the door.  
  
~*~*~*~ A couple of days later ~*~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha finally returned to the castle. He searched for 3 full days and night, without success.  
He slowly walked to Kagome's room and sat down in a chair, his eyes closed and his hand covering his forehead and eyes.   
  
_Kagome, where could you be...?_ He moved his hand away and looked up at the ceiling. _  
  
Why have I exhausted myself for 3 days just to find her?_ He inhaled the air in the room. _Kagome's scent is still fresh in this room...what a fine scent. _He thought as he closed his eyes.  
  
He let himself fall on Kagome's bed. _Kagome...where are you?_ And he fell asleep.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
-- In Inuyasha's dream --  
  
Inuyasha was walking in the dark. 'Where am I?' he thought as he continued to walk. Then he suddenly noticed an altar in a distance and he walked towards it.   
  
_Someone is lying on the altar! _he thought and when he realized who it was, he quickened his pace.  
  
'Kagome!!' he shouted as he had almost reached the altar.  
  
Kagome was dressed in a silver white gown. She seemed to be sleeping.  
  
[AN: Just like snow white but without the glass and flowers ^-^. Don't worry! I don't own it!]  
  
'K-Kagome?' Inuyasha raised his hand to touch her face, but stopped when a voice suddenly halted him.  
  
'Do NOT touch her!' a shadow spoke as it approached Inuyasha.  
  
'T-this voice...it sounds familiar...' Inuyasha turned around.  
  
The shadow became slightly visible and Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock. 'K-Kagome?' _She definitely looks like her, but something's different..._  
  
'Confusing isn't it? She smirked.   
  
Inuyasha took a step backwards. 'You're not her!! Who are you?!' he snarled.  
  
'You'll find out pretty soon, Inuyasha.' She said with an evil smile.   
  
Then all became dark again.  
  
Inuyasha woke up. 'What was that?' he wondered as he sat up. He slowly got up and walked to the balcony.  
  
He looked up at the clear sky. 'It's already evening huh?'  
  
Inuyasha suddenly felt something coming and without second thought, he quickly jumped back into the room.   
  
BWAAAAHHHMMM  
  
A huge lightning bolt struck the balcony, causing a big hole at the spot where Inuyasha stood.   
  
'What the hell!!?!' Inuyasha shouted.  
  
At the same time, Sesshoumaru had entered the room and ran to Inuyasha's side. 'What happened?' he asked.  
  
'I...' Inuyasha began, but stopped explaining when his ears caught a familiar yet different voice.   
  
The voice was singing a song in a very harsh way, almost unbearable for the sensitive ears of Inuyasha.  
  
'Inuyasha, look!!' Sesshoumaru suddenly shouted while fixing his gaze on something outside.  
  
Inuyasha followed his gaze and looked at the same direction. His jaw dropped at the sight.  
  
As the song continued, an earthquake suddenly started and a black castle was rising out of the earth in a distance. Huge pieces of rocks and earth flew everywhere as the castle continued to elevate out of the earth.  
  
After a while, the singing stopped and the castle stopped elevating. The ground stopped trembling, the castle had completely risen.  
  
_What the..!! _Inuyasha thought, looking at the huge castle in a distance. The castle was medieval-like and was twice a high as the castle of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. It had a very high tower standing in the middle of it.  
  
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha didn't notice it before because of the trembling, but someone was definitely standing on top of the highest tower in the middle of the castle.  
  
Long raven hair was dancing with the wind. The person was looking directly at Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.  
  
Their eyes widened in shock. The person standing there looked exactly like Kagome, only dressed in a pitch-black gown. Her face was emotionless.  
  
She suddenly raised her arms to the sky and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and a very cold and harsh voice could be heard all over the land.  
  
Inuyasha winced as the voice reached his ears. It was almost painful for him to listen to the tune. 'Sesshoumaru, t-that can't be Kagome, can it?' he groaned as he turned to Sesshoumaru.  
  
He looked at Inuyasha, his face as expressionless as always. 'Can you think of anybody else, who uses her voice to control powers?' he stated plainly.  
  
As the girl continued to sing, huge dark clouds appeared out of nowhere, causing darkness to fall over the whole land. Lightning bolts came out of the clouds and hit several places in the forest, causing trees to catch fire. Since there was no rain, the fire spread immediately and the forest soon became a sea of fire.   
The fire strange enough didn't affect both castles.  
  
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha continued to stare in shock at the landscape of fire. 'This... this is terrible!!' Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Finally the girl stopped singing and opened her eyes. She looked at Inuyasha.  
  
'K-Kagome?' Inuyasha whispered in disbelief.  
  
It was as if the girl had heard Inuyasha and an evil smile appeared on her face before her figure faded away.  
  
'Come Inuyasha, we need to discuss about this.' Sesshoumaru said before he left the room. Inuyasha followed him, after taking another look at the black castle.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
'You remember the prophecy, right?' He asked, standing by the window.  
  
'Yeah, it was definitely talking about Kagome.' Inuyasha responded, he was sitting in a chair.  
  
'Remember the lower part?' Sesshoumaru continued. 'It was saying something about a duet...'  
  
Something struck Inuyasha and he quickly stood up and turned to his brother.  
  
'Precisely...' Sesshoumaru knew that his brother realized what the prophecy was saying. 'A duet will be sung side by side.'  
  
'Hate will compose the songs the Death and Destruction and Love will bare the tones of Life and Healing.' He took over the citation.  
  
'That means...' Inuyasha began.   
  
'Kagome has two different paths that she can choose to walk in her life as the song-maiden.' Sesshoumaru finished his sentence. 'And right now, she has chosen the dark one.' He continued.  
  
'But...why? I thought she cared about this world.' Inuyasha said, very frustrated.  
  
'I don't know.' Sesshoumaru replied.  
  
'This is really frustrating,' Inuyasha stood up and walked towards the door. 'I'm definitely going to demand an answer!'  
  
When he almost reached the doorway, Sesshoumaru halted him. 'Where do you think you're going?' He demanded.  
  
'The the black castle, now out of my way!' he snarled.  
  
'Going to an unknown place without using your brain is suicide!!'  
  
'You're not going to stop me! Leave me be or I'll really get angry!' he gritted his teeth.  
  
'Fine! I won't stop you then!!' With that, Sesshoumaru moved his arm away and looked away.  
  
Inuyasha quickly left the room, without looking at his brother.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
It was already evening, dark clouds covered the sky and the sound of thunder could be heard once in a while. The black castle stood silently on the horizon.  
  
A red dragon appeared in the sky, carrying his determined master, and flew towards the castle.  
  
-- At the black castle --  
  
'Kagome!! Come out and talk to me!! I know you're here!!' Inuyasha yelled as he jumped off his dragon and landed in the courtyard.  
  
He quickly turned around after he heard a voice. 'Kukuku, an uninvited guest...' the man laughed. He was no longer wearing a baboon pelt, but dressed like a lord in a black robe.  
  
'Who the hell are you!? And where are you keeping Kagome!' Inuyasha growled.  
  
'My name is Naraku, the lord of this castle and I believe, that the one you are searching for, would be my queen.'  
  
_What the...?! His queen?!_ Inuyasha's eyes widened. 'You're lying!! Where is she?!! Let me talk to her!!'  
  
Suddenly a voice spoke out of nowhere. 'Naraku, why are you holding our guest outside? Please invite him in, he must have traveled a long way.'  
  
_This voice...it's a bit different but I am definitely sure it's Kagome's!_ Inuyasha thought.  
  
'As you wish, my queen.' Naraku turned to Inuyasha. 'Well, she's waiting for you in the throne chamber.' He said before he vanished.  
  
Without hesitation, Inuyasha dashed into the castle.  
  
-- In the throne chamber --  
  
Inuyasha pushed the huge doors open and entered the big chamber. It was dark, only candles on the walls were causing the dim light inside the room.  
  
Inuyasha could clearly see the throne with someone sitting on it and he slowly approached it. He stopped as he recognized who it was and stood there, about 3 meters away from the person.  
  
Raven black hair resting on her shoulders, her head resting on her hand, which in turn was leaning on the arm of the throne. She seemed to be sleeping.  
  
'K-Kagome?'   
  
The girl slowly opened her dark blue eyes. 'I-Inuyasha?' she responded. 'What are you doing here?'  
  
_She looks normal, there's nothing different about her, except for her clothes...then what did Sesshoumaru meant with the dark path?_ Inuyasha thought frustrated. 'That's what I was planning to ask you!' he replied, slightly irritated. 'I came to retrieve you!'  
  
Kagome slowly stood up and walked towards him, but stopped as he continued to talk.  
  
'I don't know why you're aiding that Naraku but this dark path or whatever you have chosen isn't right. Dark clouds have covered the sky again and the forests have died.' He looked at Kagome, who was dressed in pitch black.   
  
'And this... this isn't you, this isn't the Kagome I know!!'  
  
Kagome's dark blue eyes was slightly filled with hope and she continued to walk to him, until she was standing in front of him, within arm reach.   
  
Inuyasha put both his hands on her shoulders. 'Please, please stop this nonsense and come back to the castle with me!!' he shouted, tightening his grip on her shoulders.   
  
'Inuyasha...' she whispered as she looked in his eyes. She was hoping to find something, something that would show his feelings towards her, but the answer she feared was already given as Inuyasha averted her gave.  
  
'T-the world will die if you don't stop this...' he turned to look at Kagome. 'I don't want to see that...'  
  
All her hopes had disappeared in an instance and she closed her eyes.   
  
'What am I to you?' she finally asked after a short silence.  
  
'I-I...I...' Inuyasha was shocked by her question. _Why does she suddenly ask me this...what is she to me? A song-maiden, right? The one who can save this world...but...but why am I hesitating?_ Inuyasha gazed away. _There is something more... but what is it?? Why can't I answer her question??_   
  
'Enough of this crap!!!' Kagome suddenly yelled, her voice was cold and harsh now.   
  
Inuyasha immediately snapped out of his thoughts. He turned to look at Kagome, her eyes were still shut.  
  
'Kagome?' he asked.  
  
Kagome's eyes shot open after she heard her name and looked straight into his eyes. 'You're too late now...' she suddenly smirked.  
  
Inuyasha was startled. _H-her eyes...changed color!?! _'You're...you're eyes...' he stuttered, still looking at her eyes.   
  
Her eyes were cold now and they were only filled with hatred, sorrow and disappointment.  
  
'Got sharp eyes, Inu-kun.' she laughed.   
  
[AN: The suffix -kun is usually used to refer to someone you know quite well]  
  
'You're Kagome?' he asked in disbelief. 'No! You're not her! What have you done to her!?' he shouted angrily.  
  
'Why Inuyasha, don't you recognize me?' she smiled as she raised her hand to touch his face.   
  
He quickly smacked her hand away and took a step backwards. 'Don't you touch me!! You are totally different than the Kagome I know!!'  
  
'Hidoi... that hurts you know... no wonder she wanted to get away from you!' she wailed as she rubbed her hand.  
  
'Who are you talking about?' Inuyasha demanded, even more frustrated.  
  
'Well, your dear Kagome of course.' she taunted him.  
  
Inuyasha couldn't suppress his anger anymore and grabbed her throat; his nails digging into her skin but not deep enough to cause any blood.  
  
'Quit playing games and tell me where she is!!' he growled.  
  
'She...is...right here.' she groaned. 'standing in...front...of you!!'  
  
'Tell the truth, you bitch!!' he snarled as he tightened his grip.  
  
'Goddammit, why...don't you listen to...me? She...is...right...' She raised her hand and pointed at her head. '...here...'  
  
She smirked. 'If you kill me, you....will...also...kill...her!!'  
  
Inuyasha's eyes widened and let go of her throat.  
  
'I really pity her...you know.' She coughed, rubbing her throat. 'She had only suffered till now.'  
  
'What do you mean?'  
  
'She didn't tell you?' she smirked. 'She suffered the death of her family at the age of 10; 5 years later history repeated and she lost her precious onee-sama. Because of the tremendous shock she suffered back then, she had lost her voice.'  
  
'I-I never knew...she never told me...' Inuyasha replied sadly.  
  
'Well, she had planned to...but you were too impatient to listen to her...' She gradually raised her voice. 'And you know who had made her suffer the most?'   
  
She pointed at Inuyasha. 'YOU DID!!!'   
  
Inuyasha was shocked. 'Me?? But how??'  
  
She turned away from him and walked back to the throne. 'She really thought you could rely on you for the rest of her life.' She turned to him. 'She had hoped to find a place in your heart, that was meant for her...'  
  
Inuyasha didn't say anything but only gave her a puzzled look.  
  
She sighed. 'Talk about being dense...' she mumbled. Her eyes suddenly flared with anger. 'She loved you, you bastard!! She really loved you!!!'   
  
_She...she what?! She l-loved me??_ Inuyasha was startled by the sudden confession. 'B-but...' He was cut off as she continued.  
  
'She gave you a second chance a while ago, but you have totally ruined it!!' She yelled.  
  
'W-where is she now??' Inuyasha asked.  
  
'She's asleep...' she said with a calm voice, but gradually raised her voice. 'She chose to sleep forever, than to live with the tremendous pain...caused by YOU!!!'   
  
'B-but how...?' Inuyasha wondered aloud. Then it struck Inuyasha as he remembered his conversation with Sesshoumaru.   
  
_'I don't have any feelings for Kagome, I only protected her because you told me to and because she's the maiden that will save our world!!'_   
  
_She overheard our conversation!_ Inuyasha concluded.  
  
'Finally remembering what you've done?' She smirked. 'But it's all too late now...'  
  
Naraku suddenly appeared behind Kagome.  
  
'She awakened ME to live in her place, so I'm in charge now.' she continued.  
  
She took a step backwards and leaned against Naraku's chest with her back. Naraku responded by placing an arm possessively around her waist and pulled her closer.  
  
'And I...' she said as she leaned her head on Naraku's chest. 'chose to aid Naraku.' She gave Inuyasha an evil smile.  
  
Inuyasha fell on his knees. _This...this can't be true..._ An image of Kagome gently smiling at him appeared in his mind. _What have I done!?_ He cried inside his mind.  
  
'Here my queen, why don't you take revenge on him for Kagome?' Naraku smirked as he handed a black bow and arrow to her.  
  
She took the bow and aimed the black arrow at Inuyasha.   
  
She was hesitating. _The bitch still has feelings for him huh? Although she's sleeping, she can still influence my actions..._   
She looked at where her arrow was pointing. Every time she was aiming at his heart, something would move the arrow to another spot on his body. _She's preventing me from killing him huh? _She thought.  
  
'What's the matter my queen?' Naraku asked as he noticed her struggling in her mind.   
  
'Nothing, just lost some concentration.' she replied and released her arrow.  
  
BZZIIINNGG  
  
The arrow flew swiftly through the air and caught Inuyasha off guard.  
  
Inuyasha realized something was coming at him and looked up. But he realized it too late and the arrow hit him right in the chest, narrowly missed his heart.   
  
'AARRCK' he cried as he fell on his back.  
  
'My queen, you should be aiming for his heart.' Naraku's voice was filled with disappointment.  
  
'I know!!' she yelled as she prepared another arrow. She immediately released it when it aimed exactly at his heart. _This will definitely hit!_ She thought confidently.  
  
_Kagome..._ Inuyasha thought as he tried to get up, only to realize that another arrow was flying towards him. But he wasn't looking at the arrow anymore; he was looking at the person who shot it.   
  
His eyes were locked on hers. _Am I going to die by Kagome's hands...?_ he thought before he closed his eyes.  
  


* * *

Another cliffhanger!! I just LOVE them ^o^!! Anyway please look forward to the next chapter: Realizations and Honesty.  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Hidoi...:** That's/You're so cruel...  
  
Hope it's like you have expected...if not... well this IS my story and I'm the one writing it so just accept it!! Just kidding, well if you can think of any other plot or storyline, tell me and maybe I can use it for my next stories. Because this one, I have ALREADY FINISHED!! ^-^ Just haven't put it on my computer yet... so don't worry about me not finishing this story!!  
  
I tend to use a LOT of cliffhangers, so cruel am I not ? Whohohoho, that's kind of my way to get people reviewing ^-^! Don't worry all, I won't blackmail you anymore, I'll just put the next chapter up as soon as I have put it on my computer, that's a promise!  
  
Lots of greets,  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 30 June 2003  
Last edited: 30 June 2003 


	11. Realizations and Honesty

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on reviews:**   
  
**Moon-Princess:** *peeking from behind a rock* A-are you still mad??? I'm sorry for using another cliffie...*NOT* muwahaha I will be using them as much as I want to!! Yeah I know how *blieb* it is to have blackmails in the middle of a cliffhanger so I'm not gonna use it anymore. Besides, without using it, still manages to get me 13 reviews in a day ^-^ *really really relieved*  
Thanks for reviewing and for your wonderful cookies *yum yum* my favorite! Chocolate chip cookies ^-^ AND your muffins!!! *munch* But to tell you the truth I don't really fancy milk, nono it's nothing personal, *munch munch* I was born this way hahaha, it used to take my mother about an hour to feed me milk from a bottle when I was little ^-^, she was already glad if I could finish it within 45 minutes.  
About the plot, *munch munch* I got the idea of songmaiden from Lunar (the silver star story), it's a game of Playstation. And I combined it with a dream I had 2 years ago, and since nobody have ever written a story before with this plot, I had decided write it down as a Fanfic ^-^! *let herself fall back on her chair with a full and round stomach* oempf.. I'm full ^-^!!  
**  
CahadrasMoonShine: **Well, I've told you that it's an Inu/Kag fic haven't I? Well can't blame you for thinking that Inuyasha might die, since this is a Drama/Romance fic ^-^. I wish Inuyasha was mine too, but he isn't *sob sob*.  
  
**Yusuke: **Thanks for reviewing!!  
  
**WhitneyLin:** Yeah I'm getting quite used to using cliffhangers!! Enjoy reading this chapter!!  
  
**pinkjingling:** Thanks!  
  
**Sesshoumaru:** Wow! please don't die! If you do, I will lose a reader and reviewer. Here's the next chapter!! *wipes sweatdrops*  
  
**Sailor-Knight Shadowstar:** Forgive me for my japanese mistakes. I'm not a japanese myself, but I watch a LOT of animes and the people always translate 'Itaii...' as 'Ouch' or 'That hurts'. And I know that the pronunciation is 'Chikushou' and not 'Chikusou'...didn't know whether I should use the writing style or talking style so I let the H out, hehehe didn't expect anyone to notice it though ^-^. Thanks for telling me about the meaning of 'Yokatta', didn't really know the exact meaning of it, but it was the same with 'Itaii'. In the animes, the ppl always translate it as 'I'm glad'.   
  
**starrynight323:** Thanks!!  
  
**Twil:** Thank you very much ^-^!  
  
**drow goddess:** Well, don't worry, I don't really expect readers to review every chapter. Why? Because readers tend to ask questions that might be answered in the next chapters. And reviewing every chapter while there is already a next chapter posted is a bit useless unless (in my opinion, if you want to review every chapter, I'll be happy to receive them) you have discovered some anomalies in the story ^-^. But I still am grateful for all the reviews that I've received so far ^-^!!   
  
**Jupiter's Light:** Thanks!!!  
  
**Nori Ryeko:** No problem! Look! I have posted another chapter again ^-^!  
  
**KK:** Well, since everybody just couldn't wait for the next chapter.  
  
**Corie:** Thanks for your review!  
  
**Minna, arigatou-gozaimase!!! (=thanks everybody) For your wonderful reviews!! I can't blame you guys for sitting on the edge of your chairs because of the cliffie I have used ^-^ soooooo...here is the next chapter: Realizations and Honesty. Please enjoy reading it!!**  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**Realizations and Honesty**   
  


**Previously:** _Kagome..._ Inuyasha thought as he tried to get up, only to realize that another arrow was flying towards him. But he wasn't looking at the arrow anymore; he was looking at the person who shot it.   
His eyes were locked on hers. _Am I going to die by Kagome's hands...?_ he thought before he closed his eyes.  
  
The black arrow continued to fly towards Inuyasha, aiming for his heart.  
  
When the sound of the arrow suddenly stopped, Inuyasha opened his eyes.  
  
A person stood in front of him. 'S-Sesshoumaru!!' Inuyasha was surprised to see his brother.  
  
Sesshoumaru was holding the arrow between his index and middle finger.   
  
'So you've finally awakened, dark Kagome.' He said with a calm voice as he melted the arrow in his hand. He turned around and melted the one in Inuyasha's chest, causing him to wince.  
  
She smirked. 'So you've finally found out huh? I see you're much smarter than your little brother there.'  
  
'What is she talking about?' Inuyasha slowly got back on his feet; his hand covering the wound where the black arrow was before.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned to dark Kagome. 'Remember the prophecy?' Inuyasha nodded.   
  
'It said that Kagome had two different paths that she can choose to walk in her life as the song-maiden.' he continued. 'While you were gone, I have found out that the prophecy had a deeper meaning.'  
  
'The fact that Kagome could walk two different paths, actually meant to say that she has two different minds.' [AN: = personalities]  
  
'W-what??' Inuyasha's gaze shifted from his brother to dark Kagome.  
  
'The one who's standing near Naraku now, isn't the Kagome we used to know.' he explained. 'The one you see, is the dark Kagome, who had slept in Kagome's mind up till now.'  
  
Inuyasha turned to Sesshoumaru. 'So the dark one is keeping the real one away?'  
  
'Probably.' he replied.  
  
'Mind your words, dogboy!!!' dark Kagome yelled as her eyes flared with anger. 'I was talking the truth about why Kagome awakened me!!'  
  
Dark Kagome fired an arrow out of anger to the floor in front of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, causing a huge hole where it hit.  
  
'I hate you!!! I hate you all!!!' she yelled as she continued to shoot arrows at them, causing them to take one step backwards after another.  
  
'Come Inuyasha! We have to retreat for now!!' Sesshoumaru made a whistle-sound and started to run for the courtyard.   
  
Inuyasha took one last look at dark Kagome, who was still looking raged, and ran after Sesshoumaru.   
  
~*~*~*~  
  
A huge white dragon was already standing in the middle of the courtyard, waiting for its master. Sesshoumaru quickly jumped on the dragon and Inuyasha did the same.  
  
Inuyasha suddenly felt limp and collapsed to his knees after he landed next to his brother on the dragon.   
  
Inuyasha looked at his wound. _The arrow...was filled with sorrow, I can still feel it...burning in my chest_.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at his brother before he commanded the dragon to take off. And they flew back to their castle.  
  
  
  
-- Back at their castle --  
  
A couple of days had passed since Inuyasha's confrontation with dark Kagome. He was lying on his bed, his wound was already healed.   
  
Inuyasha got out of bed and walked to the window. _Kagome..._ he thought as he looked out of the window.   
  
Dark clouds still continued to cover the sky. Thunderbolts came out of the sky every now and then and hit the earth, causing either huge holes or lakes of fires to start. Cracks in the earth slowly extend themselves.  
  
[AN: You might expect Kagome to sing every now and then to have this world crumble, but that's not the idea. What Kagome has done is lit up the fuse of a huge bomb (by singing back then on the top of the black tower) that will cause this world to be destroyed. And now the time is ticking as the world is slowly starting to crumble ^-^]  
  
After watching a while, he turned around and walked out of his room, deep in thoughts.  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
When he snapped out of his thoughts, he suddenly realized he was standing in front of Kagome's room. _Why have I come here?_ he wondered. _ Am I hoping to find her singing on the balcony when I open this door?_   
  
He opened the door and entered the room.  
  
The room was empty and silent, but Kagome's scent still lingered in the air. He walked towards her bed.  
  
He didn't notice before but a bow and quiver was lying on the bedside table.  
  
Inuyasha gently picked up the bow. _ This is the bow I gave her. _ He was about to put it back on the table but stopped as his eyes caught something.  
  
He looked more closely at the string of the bow, for he noticed that it looked less silver than before.   
  
His eyes widened. _This...this is..._   
  
The reason why the string didn't look as silver as before, was because of a black hair string that was intertwined with the silver one; from top to bottom.  
  
Inuyasha gently touched the string. _It's Kagome's..._   
  
Then he suddenly recalled something Kagome said before.   
  
'One string is a bit lonely don't you think?'   
  
_She..._   
  
'...the bow would be stronger if more strings were used for connecting the two ends.'   
  
_...made a new and stronger string by combining it with one of hers..._   
  
Inuyasha suddenly felt something warm streaming down his cheek and landing on his hand. He looked down at his hand. _These are...tears?_ He raised his hand to touch his cheek. It was wet. _I-I'm...crying!?_   
  
'Kagome...' he whispered. He suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his chest and he clutched his heart. _This feeling...this pain...it's really tormenting..._   
  
More tears was streaming down his cheeks as an image of Kagome smiling at him appeared in his mind. _ I...I fell in love with Kagome...without even realizing it... _   
  
'But...it's already too late now...' he mumbled to himself.  
  
'You give up easily, my dear brother.' Sesshoumaru suddenly spoke as he entered the room. Inuyasha's head shot up, looking at him.  
  
'What do you mean?' he replied. 'Dark Kagome already said it was too late.' he dropped his gaze to the bow. 'The Kagome I love is already sleeping eternally.'  
  
'So she said...' Sesshoumaru responded and walked to the window. 'The prophecy indeed said that 'only a solo shall survive',' he turned to Inuyasha. 'But it was followed by an 'unless'.'  
  
Inuyasha gave her brother a puzzled look.  
  
'Meaning that there is a way to bring her back, Inuyasha.' he explained.  
  
'It makes no sense at all... how can I do that? She hates me.' he responded; frustrated.  
  
Sesshoumaru walked to his side. 'If she really hates you...' he pointed at his heart. 'her first arrow would have hit your heart, knowing her skill in archery.'  
  
Inuyasha's eyes filled with hope but... 'But...what do I do? The prophecy didn't continue.'  
  
Sesshoumaru slightly smiled at his little brother. 'Baka! Just listen to what your heart tells you and improvise.' With that he turned around and left the room.  
  
'Listen to my heart huh?' Inuyasha mumbled.  
  
~*~*~*~ That night ~*~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha was sleeping on Kagome's bed again, hoping that he could see her again in his dreams.  
  
-- In Inuyasha's dream (or mind?)--  
  
He was walking in the dark again.   
  
'Tsk, tsk, you never give up, do you?' a voice spoke.  
  
Dark Kagome appeared in front of Inuyasha. Behind her stood the altar with Kagome still sleeping on it.  
  
'Out of my way!!' Inuyasha shouted.   
  
'Why won't you just accept the face that she's gone!!' she yelled back.  
  
A smirk appeared on Inuyasha's face. 'What are you so afraid of, dark Kagome?' he chuckled. 'That I might actually wake her up?'  
  
Dark Kagome's eyes narrowed, she looked pretty irritated.  
  
'So there is a way, isn't there?' he continued, noticing her expression.  
  
Dark Kagome gritted her teeth. 'I'll kill her before you can even approach her!'  
  
'Then why didn't you in the first place?' he looked at her. 'You could have got rid of her a long time ago.' He smirked. 'You can't do that, can you?'  
  
She looked away, her expression hardened but softened and an evil smile appeared on her face. 'I can't...' she chuckled. 'but Naraku can...' She looked up at Inuyasha. 'I'll have Naraku get rid of her mind if you even dare to enter my castle!!' she threatened.  
  
Inuyasha growled. 'Why you...!!!' He lunged forward with his claws, but before he could touch her, she already disappeared in the dark, together with the altar.   
  
'Chikushou!!!' Inuyasha cried before he woke up.  
  
-- Back to the real world --  
  
Inuyasha stood on the half-wrecked balcony and looked at the black castle. _I have to move fast, or she'll have Naraku destroy Kagome before I've even tried to enter the castle. _he thought determined.  
  
'Tomorrow night...I will make my move...' He clenched his fists. 'This had better work.'  
  
~*~*~*~ The next night ~*~*~*~  
  
'It's time' Inuyasha said to himself as he jumped on the back of his dragon.  
  
A shadow watched them depart and fly towards the black castle. It was Sesshoumaru, standing on his balcony. He was holding an old piece of paper in his hand.   
  
'Follow your heart, Inuyasha...' was the only thing he said before going back into his room.   
  
-- At the black castle, in Kagome's room --  
  
'If you need me, just call my name.' Naraku said before he disappeared.   
  
'Damn it! I had hoped that he would keep me company tonight.' dark Kagome pouted as she sat down on her queen size bed. [AN: Well, she IS a queen, hence the queen size bed ^-^]  
  
She laid down on her back. She was dressed in a long thin black satin dress.  
  
A sudden breeze blew through the bedroom.  
  
_Sheesh, it's cold... I better close the window._ When she sat up, she noticed a shadow standing near the open window.  
  
'Who's there!!' she yelled. The shadow slowly came into the dim candlelight. His long silver hair reflected the candlelight.  
  
'You!! How are you enter my room!!' she yelled as she planned to get off her bed. 'I told you...' Before she had reached the edge of the bed, Inuyasha suddenly pounced on Kagome. He grabbed her wrists and pinned her down to the bed.  
  
'Let me talk to her.' he said with a calm voice as he held her down.  
  
Dark Kagome struggled under his grip. _He's strong...I can't even move an inch...!!_ 'What the hell do you think you're doing!!' she yelled. 'Narak...' Before she could call Naraku's name, Inuyasha had already silenced her by catching her mouth with his.  
  
Her eyes widened. His golden orbs were locked on her gray ones and she went silent for a short moment.  
  
'Mmmpff!!' She started to struggle again. But she couldn't escape from Inuyasha's strong grip.  
  
After a while, she finally gave up struggling and closed her eyes. Inuyasha closed his eyes at the same time.  
  
-- In their shared mind --  
  
'Keh! I knew you would open up your mind to me eventually.' Inuyasha smirked as he walked in the dark.  
  
'There it is!!' He quickened his pace as he saw the altar.  
  
When he almost reached it, he was forced to jump back when an arrow hit the ground in front of the altar. He looked around and saw dark Kagome in a distance.  
  
'You want to wake her up!?' she shouted and prepared another arrow. 'You'll have to kill me first!!'  
  
'Sankon Tetsusou!!' he cried as he suddenly lunged forward with his claws first.  
  
Dark Kagome was too late to dodge and her bow and arrows were ripped apart by his claw attack.  
  
'No more interference from you, you understand!!' Inuyasha roared and pushed her roughly to the floor.  
  
'Y-you...can't wake her up...' dark Kagome groaned, still lying on the floor.   
  
'Shut the fuck up!!' he growled.  
  
Inuyasha turned around and walked towards the altar.  
  
Kagome was still sleeping peacefully. Both her hands were resting on her stomach.  
  
Inuyasha gently lifted her head and shoulders with his arm and sat down on the corner of the altar. Kagome was now leaning against his chest with her back. His shoulder supported her head, his hand moved around her waist and rested on her stomach. His other hand was holding her hand. He leaned his chin on her head.  
  
'K-Kagome...' he started, his voice was very gentle. 'You are so silly, you know that?' A faint smile appeared on his face as he said that.  
  
'Why did you have to run away?' he looked at his hand which was holding hers. 'If I was the cause of your pain...then I should be the one who should take it away...not somebody else...'  
  
He gently stroked her hand with his thumb. 'Why...why didn't you tell me about your feeling for me...?' He frowned. 'I'm a sucker for hints, you know...'  
  
He tightened his embrace. His chin was now resting on her shoulder instead of her head; his cheek touched hers. Inuyasha inhaled her scent.   
  
'Why didn't I realize it...why didn't I realize my feelings a bit sooner?' he growled. 'Then all of this wouldn't have happened.' A tear rolled down his cheek. 'N-now...now it's too late...' More tears flowed down. 'Kagome...Kagome...g-gomen...GOMEN NASAI!!!' he cried out.  
  
He pulled away a little and shifted Kagome's position. Her head and shoulders were now leaning on his arm so that Inuyasha could see her face from above (and a little from aside).   
  
He released her hand and reached for her face.   
  
'You're really beautiful, you know that?' he whispered as he gently moved some strands of hair from her face. He carefully stroke her eyelids with his thumb. 'Especially your dark blue eyes...'  
  
'But now...' he softly sobbed. 'I-I might never see those beautiful blue eyes again...'   
  
He stopped stroking her eyelids and cupped her cheek with his hand. 'Demo ne? I'm going to be honest to myself from now on.'   
  
He slowly leaned closer to her face until his lips were almost touching hers. 'Kagome...aishiteru' he softly whispered before sealing her lips with his.  
  
Inuyasha put all his love for Kagome in his kiss as tears continued to flow out of his closed eyes. The kiss tasted bitter because of the tears that flowed to their sealed lips.  
  
Then all became silent, even dark Kagome became silent as she watched the whole scene...   
  
-- Back to the real world --  
  
Inuyasha's lips were still sealed in a kiss with Kagome's, but a lot more gentler than before. And his hands were not grabbing her wrists anymore, but holding her hands instead; his fingers intertwined with hers.  
  
After a while, their lips finally parted as Inuyasha slowly pulled away a little, with his eyes still closed. For he didn't want to see those cold gray eyes anymore when they open again.  
  
He felt her pulling away one of her hands from his grip. He had expected a slap, but it never came.  
  
Instead, he felt something warm touching his face and cupping his cheek.  
  
His eyes shot open from the warm touch and his golden orbs met a pair of dark blue ones...  
  


* * *

SSSSwwweeeettt don't you think???? I almost fainted when I reread this chapter ^-^!!   
Please look forward to the next chapter: Kagome's decision  
  
Hmm, do you guys see this as a cliffhanger? I personally do not think that way, *hides under a big frypan* p-please don't hit me!!  
  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Chikushou:** Shit/Damn  
**Sankon Tetsusou: **Claw attack used by Inuyasha, literally mean 'Soul-Scattering-Iron-Claw'  
**Gomen/Gomen nasai:** I'm sorry  
**Demo ne?:** But you know what?  
**Aishiteru:** I love you  
  
Hope you have enjoyed reading this chapter! Please review after reading ^-^!  
  
Lots of greets,  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 2 July 2003  
Last Edited: 2 July 2003 


	12. Kagome's decision

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on Reviews:**  
  
**Sailor-Knight Shadowstar:** Oh man! I wish I could learn Japanese, but unfortunately I don't really have the time for it. Maybe I'll study it in the future ^-^!  
  
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**Sabishii Onna no ko: **Thanks... and euhmm sorry for the cliffie ^-^, didn't expect it to be one hehehe *looking sheepishly*.  
  
**drow goddess:** Uwaah *quickly hides behind her desk* p-please don't hit me with a frying pan!! H-here's the next chapter...but...*quickly hides*  
  
**Moon-Princess:** My sis have seen Monty Python and the holy grail and she claims that I've seen it too, but I can't really remember it anymore ^-^! Have fun at camp and wish you a happy birthday!! Thanks for the bday cake, it's really good! Don't worry about that off the topic talking, I like it ^-^.   
  
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InuKagStar: Don't worry about it ^-^ I'm glad you're back again and still following my story.  
  
**ALL:** Welcome to the next chapter! Thank you very much for your reviews!! But be prepared for what you are going to read ^-^!! No no, I won't say anything...*grabs a tissue* just read it yourself!! Enjoy reading!! *evil grin*  
  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**Kagome's decision**   
  


**Previously:** His eyes shot open from the warm touch and his golden orbs met a pair of dark blue ones...  
  
'K-Kagome?' he softly whispered as his golden eyes were still locked on her blue ones.  
  
The Shikon no Tama flashed with a pure white light.  
  
'I-Inuyasha...?' She gently stroked his wet cheek with her hand. 'Why are you crying...I...I...don't want...to see you sad anymore...'  
  
Inuyasha covered her hand with his. 'Baka! I'm not sad!! These are tears of happiness...' He leaned closer to her. 'You've finally returned to my side, Kagome.' he said with a gentle voice.  
  
Tears welled up in her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck. 'Gomen nasai!! Inuyasha...gomen nasai!!' she cried as she hugged him tight.  
  
He put his arms around her waist and pulled her with him as he sat up and held her as close as possible.   
  
'Shh, it's okay... it's okay now...' He gently stroked her hair  
  
  
~*~*~*~   
  
'Come on, let's get out of here.' Inuyasha offered her his hand as they approached the open window. She slightly nodded and took his hand.  
  
'Where do you think you're going?' a voice suddenly spoke as Naraku's figure appeared in the room, he was standing about 3 meters away from them.  
  
Inuyasha stood protectively in front of Kagome. 'Stay behind me, Kagome.' Kagome nodded and hid herself behind him.  
  
Without saying anything else, Naraku suddenly shot a huge blaze of force at Inuyasha, only causing him to fly out of the window.  
  
'Inuyasha!!!' Kagome cried as she ran to the window. She watched as Inuyasha's figure disappeared into the darkness.  
  
When Kagome turned around, Naraku was already standing next to her in a flash and grabbing her throat.  
  
'D-dream on... Naraku... I-I'm not going...to help you...anymore...' she groaned.  
  
'Kukuku, who said I will be needing you to carry out my plan?' he smirked.   
  
'W-what do you...mean!?'  
  
Naraku slowly held the Shikon no Tama in his hand. 'You see, I had foreseen this. I knew you would betray me someday, so in the mean time, I had made myself a new device.'   
  
He ripped the Shikon no Tama from her necklace. 'A device that can extract the powers from this jewel and turn it into evil powers.' he chuckled.  
  
'And when that happens,' he continued. 'I will stand in the middle of the powers and all of it will be mine to have!!'   
  
'Y-you monster!!' Kagome spat in disgust.  
  
Naraku gave her a nonchalant look. 'I guess you won't be needed anymore...' And he threw her out of the window.  
  
'Kyaaaaaaaa!!!!' Kagome yelled as she fell out of the window.  
  
'Kagome!'   
  
She heard someone call out her name and she looked to her side.  
  
A red dragon was flying towards her; on its back stood a familiar shadow with his silver hair dancing in the wind.  
  
'Inuyasha!' Kagome cried relieved.  
  
Within no time, Kagome found herself in the strong arms of Inuyasha again.  
  
He held her close. 'Let's go back...' he whispered in her ear.  
  
She hugged him back and nodded.  
  
Together, they flew away from the black castle.  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Kagome's eyes shot open as she sat up. _Inuyasha!_   
  
She suddenly felt something stir next to her.  
  
Kagome looked to her side and found herself sitting next to Inuyasha's sleeping form in her bed. _W-what the...?_   
  
[Flashback]  
  
The red dragon landed on the balcony of Kagome [AN: Still with the hole in it, but the balcony is big enough for the dragon to land without wrecking the whole balcony ^-^!].  
  
Inuyasha jumped off with Kagome in his arms. 'Kagome?' He whispered, but she didn't respond. Inuyasha looked down at her and saw that she was already sleeping in his arms. _Oh well... she IS human and it IS midnight at the moment..._ he smiled as he looked at her sleeping face.  
  
He slowly walked to her bed and laid her on her bed.   
  
When he was just about to pull away, he felt something pulling his clothes. He looked down and saw Kagome's hands grabbing his clothes. 'I-Inu...yasha...d-don't...leave...me...' she softly mumbled. Inuyasha's eyes softened. 'Baka...I'll never leave you...' he whispered as he lay down next to her. When he settled down next to her, Kagome finally let go of his clothes. _I might as well sleep here with her, since she doesn't want me to leave._ Inuyasha thought amused. [AN: He's NOT thinking about something inappropriate mind you!!]  
  
Inuyasha took a last look at Kagome. _Tonight, I'm gonna sleep well..._ he thought before he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.  
  
[End flashback]  
  
[AN: Kagome only remembers herself saying that she doesn't want Inuyasha to leave her.]  
  
Kagome's eyes softened as she lay back down again with her eyes still locked on his sleeping form.  
  
He was sleeping on his side with his face turned to Kagome.   
  
_He's so cute when he's asleep._ she thought as she looked at his sleeping face.   
  
Her gaze switched to his ears. _Kawaiii..._ She slowly raised her hands to tough his white dog-ears.  
  
_They're so warm and soft._ she thought as she gently caressed them between her thumb and the rest of her fingers.  
  
Kagome stopped for a moment when she heard some rumbling sound. She looked at Inuyasha and put her ear on his chest to listen more carefully. _Is he...purring???_   
  
Inuyasha stirred in his sleep as he felt the warm touch on his ears disappear.'Kagome...' he mumbled.  
  
_He's dreaming about me??_ She softly put her hand on his cheek and gently stroked it. _Aishiteru, Inuyasha, and I never want to be separated from you again._   
  
Kagome leaned closer and placed a kiss upon his lips with her eyes closed.  
  
Without pulling away, she dreamily fell asleep again.  
  
At the same time, Inuyasha was dreaming about him and Kagome kissing. _Wow, this feels almost real!!_ he thought in his dream and he began to kiss her more passionately.  
  
When he suddenly heard her moan in their kiss, Inuyasha stopped for a moment.  
  
Inuyasha slightly opened his eyes and realized his lips were really touching Kagome's.   
  
He gently pulled away. _No wonder it felt so real, I wasn't really dreaming it..._ he smiled.  
  
Kagome stirred when the kiss was broken and searched for the warmth that had left her. Her hands searched for his cheeks again. She stroked his lips with her thumb as she found it.  
  
_She's still sleeping?_ Inuyasha thought, surprised by her actions.  
  
Before Inuyasha could even blink, he felt Kagome's lips on his again. His eyes widened for a moment but softened as Kagome snuggled closer. _You're really something, you know that?_ He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. He deepened the kiss. _  
  
__I wish we could stay like this forever._ Inuyasha slowly pulled away to look at his angel's face.   
  
_Kirei..._ he thought as he moved a couple strands of hair of her face.  
  
His eyes widened as he suddenly saw two streams of warm liquid flowing on her cheeks. Kagome's body started to tremble.  
  
_She's having a nightmare?_ Inuyasha instinctively pulled her closer until her head was leaning on his chest. But her body didn't stop trembling as more tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
-- In Kagome's dreams --  
  
'Inuyasha!! Where are you!?' Kagome cried, surrounded by darkness.  
  
'Kukuku, you thought you could live happily ever after with him, don't you?' Naraku appeared in front of her.  
  
'Naraku!!' What are you doing here!?' Kagome shouted. 'If you think you can convince me again to help you, you're wrong!!'  
  
He smirked. 'But you'll come to me eventually, song-maiden.'  
  
'Why would I?!' she spat.  
  
'Because of this.' Naraku said and raised his hand.  
  
Suddenly, the whole background changed and became a familiar landscape. It was the landscape of this world, the two castles and the huge forest could be seen.  
  
'I would like to show you something.' Naraku chuckled as he snapped his fingers.   
  
A huge pillar of black light came out of the sky and hit in the middle of the forest. As it hit the forest, all of the surrounding vegetation immediately died.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened in shock.  
  
'As you can see, this is the dark power of the Shikon no Tama.' Naraku explained.  
  
As the huge pillar of light continued to connect the sky with the forest, everything began to shake, causing huge cracks in the earth.   
  
'This...this is horrible!!' Kagome cried as she watched the catastrophic scene.  
  
'And you know what?' Naraku smirked. 'You're the only one who can stop this.' He laughed and disappeared in the dark.  
  
Kagome collapsed to her knees and started to cry.  
  
Suddenly, two arms turned her around and hugged her tight. 'Shh...it's okay, it's just a bad nightmare, don't cry.' A gentle voice spoke reassuringly.  
  
-- Back to the real world --  
  
Kagome opened her teary eyes and found herself looking into a pair of beautiful golden orbs.   
  
'I-Inuyasha...' she buried her head in his chest. 'I-it was horrible!! Everything was dead and... and... Naraku...he...' she sobbed.  
  
Inuyasha gently stroked the back of her head. 'It's okay, it's just a nightmare...I'm still here...'  
  
Kagome finally stopped trembling and she pulled away to look in his eyes. 'What if it isn't a dream?' Her eyes were filled with angst and despair.  
  
Not long after she had said those words, the whole castle began to shake.   
  
Kagome's eyes widened. _Oh no...please tell me this isn't happening!!_   
  
She quickly pulled herself away from Inuyasha's embrace and got out of bed.  
  
'Kagome! Don't!' Inuyasha yelled after her as he did the same.  
  
Kagome ran to the balcony and looked outside. Inuyasha ran to her side. 'What the hell did you think you were doing?! Running off alone like that, you could...' He suddenly stopped as he watched Kagome fell on her knees and started to cry. 'K-Kagome? What's wrong?' he asked worriedly.  
  
'My...my nightmare...' she turned to Inuyasha. '...has become reality...'   
  
Inuyasha's gaze shifted from his crying Kagome to outside. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing.  
  
A huge black pillar of light could be seen. It connected the sky with the forest. All of the vegetation died in a flash, starting from the place where the pillar touched the forest to as far as the eye could reach. Huge cracks started to appear in the earth as it continued to shake.  
  
After a while, the pillar of light faded and the ground stopped shaking. But the effects of the disaster were still visible in the landscape.  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
'Come in.' Sesshoumaru said as he opened the door of his room. Both Kagome and Inuyasha silently entered his room.  
  
'You've seen what happened, right?' Inuyasha asked his brother. Sesshoumaru nodded and turned to Kagome. 'You know who and what caused this, am I right?' he inquired.  
  
Kagome nodded and cited what Naraku said to her back at the black castle before he threw her out of the window.  
  
'I didn't think Naraku would go as far as making a device to replace Kagome's ability. He looked at Kagome, who's face was expressionless. And the whole room became silent.  
  
'He said I'm the only one who can stop his insane plan.' Kagome suddenly started, while looking at the floor.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned to her. 'According to my books, he's right.'  
  
'Since you're the one who can use the powers of the jewel, you're also the one who can seal them and make things undone.' he continued.  
  
Inuyasha was quite relieved to hear the news. And just when he was about to cheer Kagome up, he halted himself when he saw the unchanged expression on Kagome's face as she continued to look at the floor.  
  
His attention turned to his brother as he continued his explanation.  
  
'Unfortunately, the story doesn't stop here.' Sesshoumaru shifted his gaze from his brother to Kagome, who was deep in thought.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
'Kagome, come and rest here for a moment, I need to tell you something about your powers.' Kikyou said as she sat down on a bench.  
  
'Hai, onee-sama.' Kagome sat down beside her.  
  
'That you can control the powers of the Shikon no Tama is already a fact, you understand that, right?' she asked.   
  
Kagome slightly nodded.  
  
'However, if I'm not mistaking, you might also possess another power.' she continued.  
  
Kagome gave her a puzzled look. 'What kind of power?'  
  
'If you possess the power to do things, you might also possess the power to make those things undone.' she explained.   
  
'Your ability allows you to use the powers of the jewel, this might entail the fact that your ability also allows you to seal those powers.'   
  
Kagome still didn't quite understand what Kikyou was trying to say and became silent.  
  
'I might be wrong about this though, since I haven't been able to find something that proves my theory....' Kikyou finally said.  
  
'But...' she suddenly continued and held Kagome's hands. '...if my theory is true...and you are in the position of using that power...' she took a short pause. 'Then please listen carefully.' she finally continued after a short moment of silence.   
  
'That power of yours might not be enough to seal the tremendous powers hidden inside the Shikon no Tama.' she said with a worried look on her face. 'If you push yourself to the limits too much to seal them, you might lose your life...' Her grip on Kagome's hands tightened. 'Dakara...onegai...please think carefully before you decide to use that power, okay?'   
Her voice sounded as if she was begging Kagome instead of warning her.  
  
Seeing her onee-sama that afraid and serious, Kagome nodded, even though she didn't understand it completely.  
  
[End flashback] [AN: This took place in the period somewhere between Kagome's first battle and Kikyou's death]  
  
But now she completely understood what her onee-sama meant with her warning.  
  
'Kagome.' Sesshoumaru drew her attention, causing her to turn to him. 'You surely have thought about the fact that you might die using your power to seal the Shikon no Tama and to return the things back to where they were, haven't you?'  
  
Inuyasha's eyes widened. 'What did you just say!?' He turned to Kagome. 'Kagome...is it true what my brother says?' his voice sounded desperate.  
  
Kagome didn't look back at him and slightly nodded. 'Onee-sama once warned me about this...she said...' Kagome was cut off by Inuyasha.  
  
'That's not what I'm asking!!' he yelled. When he realized that Kagome winced at his loud voice, he suppressed his anger. 'Y-you...you're not thinking about using that power...are you?'  
  
The room became silent.  
  
Sesshoumaru walked to the door. 'I guess I should leave you two alone to discuss this matter.'   
  
Before he left, he looked at Kagome. 'Kagome, you should really think it over before you make any decisions about this.' A slight tone of worry could be heard in his voice.   
  
For the first time in his life, Inuyasha had heard worry in his brother's voice. He turned to Kagome. 'This is really serious, isn't it?'   
  
Kagome still didn't look at him.  
  
'Answer me!!!!' You're not serious about using that power, are you!?!' he yelled. Inuyasha couldn't hold down his frustration and anger anymore. He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to face him, but she averted his gaze.  
  
'I...' she finally spoke. 'There is no other choice...' Kagome closed her eyes. '...this world is going to die... the beautiful world that you wanted to flourish...' She was cut off when Inuyasha pulled her into his embrace and held her tight.  
  
'Baka!! The world doesn't matter to me anymore!!' he cried. 'Don't you understand?! You can't risk you life for this world, the price is too high!!'  
  
He pulled away to look at her, she was looking at him with teary eyes. 'I-it does matter to me...this world...don't you see? I was born to make this decision someday.' Tears rolled down her cheeks. 'I can't live on knowing that I haven't saved this world when I had the chance to...no matter how much I want to live happily ever after with you... I just can't...'  
  
'You don't want to see me sad, right!? If you die... I...I just...' Inuyasha just couldn't find the right words to describe his feelings anymore and her into a sudden kiss.  
  
Kagome was shocked at first, but didn't struggle. She placed her arms around his waist and kissed him back.  
  
After a short moment, he slowly pulled away. 'I-I don't want to lose you...again...not after I've found out how much I love you...' Now tears were rolling down Inuyasha's cheeks. 'Kagome...please...' he begged.  
  
Kagome looked down, her bangs covered her eyes. 'P-please...live on for my sake...' she softly whispered before she began to sing a soft tune.'  
  
'What are you saying!? K-Kago...' Before he could finish, everything blurred in Inuyasha's eyes as Kagome continued to sing.   
  
_W-what's happening? My body is becoming limp!!_ Inuyasha thought before he released his grip on Kagome and took several steps backwards.  
  
'K-Ka...go...me...o-omae...' he mumbled before collapsing to the floor.   
  
Just before he fell unconscious, he caught a glimpse of Kagome's face. Tears filled her eyes as she smiled at him. He couldn't hear her but he could read her last words that formed on her lips.  
  
_Ai..shi..te..ru..._   
  
[AN: Although Kagome didn't have the Shikon no Tama, she still has some powers of her own, enough to put Inuyasha to sleep ^-^!]  


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*sniff sniff* too tragic for words don't you think? I won't reveal anything about the ending, you should find out yourself!!  
  
Please look forward to the next and **final** chapter: The wheel of Fate.  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
**Baka:** Idiot  
**Gomen nasai:** I'm sorry  
**Kawaii:** Cute  
**Kirei:** Beautiful  
**Dakara...onegai...:** That's why... I'm begging you...  
**Omae:** You  
**Aishiteru: **I love you.  
  
Please review after reading!! I'll appreciate it very much ^-^! The more reviews, the faster I'm going to put next chapter in my computer and the sooner I'll post the next chapter owkay?  
  
I have found a nice plot for my next story!! It will be kind of based on the plot of my favorite book. Nono, I won't tell you anything, just finish reading this story and wait for my next story to come!! I have finished all tests so it's official holiday for me!! I have 2 weeks off and then my holiday job will begin. Which means, I have plenty of time for fanfics!   
  
If you want to be reminded of updates or new stories that I've posted on FF.net, well, just put your emailaddy in your review and tell me that you want to be emailed for updates and I will email you as soon as I have posted a new chapter or story!  
  
Lots of greets,  
~Kittymui~ 


	13. The wheel of Fate

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own the characters in this fic!!   
  
**Replies on Reviews:**  
  
**Jupiter's Light:** Thanks!! Hahaha, I never said Kagome would die... oh well, I haven't said she wouldn't *evil grin* well read this last chapter and you'll see ^-^!  
  
**Akina:** Here's the last chapter! Enjoy!!  
  
**Ra the White Fox:** Yes the prophecy said about two voices; the voice of hate is Dark Kagome en the voice of love is the normal one. Only one can survive, so the normal Kagome wasn't supposed to be awakened again (since she chose Dark Kagome to live for her), but there was an 'unless' in the prophecy so there was a chance to awaken her again. But Inuyasha didn't know what so he just followed his heart, which was the right thing ^-^. I hope this will make a lot clearer. Thanks for reviewing!!   
  
**Crazy-Mango-Chick: **Wow! Thanks for your review and mango *yum yum*~~!! Yeah, I like using some Japanese words in my story, because some things are expressed better than with English words. Here's the final chapter! Enjoy!!  
  
_Italic_: thoughts   
-- --: locations   
' ': spoken words   
~*~*~*~*~: time gap   
  


* * *

  


**THE LIFE OF A SONG-MAIDEN**  
  
-by Kittymui-  
  
**The wheel of Fate**   
**  
**

**Previously:** Just before he fell unconscious, he caught a glimpse of Kagome's face. Tears filled her eyes as she smiled at him. He couldn't hear her but he could read her last words that formed on her lips. _Ai..shi..te..ru..._   
  
Kagome stepped up the stairs, leading to the courtyard and looked up at the huge black castle. _Inuyasha, please forgive me and live on for my sake._   
  
[AN: In case you wonder, Kagome is wearing miko clothes. Not the one she wore when she came to this world, but another one. Her hakama is now navy blue instead of red. It's easier for Kagome to fight with these clothes compared to yukata's.]  
  
  
  
[Flashback]  
  
Kagome stopped singing as Inuyasha collapsed to the floor. She slowly approached his sleeping form. _Gomen, Inuyasha._   
  
'So you've finally made your decision.' a voice spoke from the doorway.  
  
Kagome looked up, it was Sesshoumaru. He walked to Inuyasha's collapsed form and picked him up. He slowly walked to his bed and laid Inuyasha on it.   
  
Kagome walked to Inuyasha's side, opposite of the side of the bed where Sesshoumaru was standing. She softly touched his cheek as a teardrop rolled down her cheek. She forced a weak smile on her face.  
  
'Don't worry, Kagome, I will take care of him.' Sesshoumaru spoke as he saw the worried look on Kagome's face.  
  
'Arigatou.' she responded; now looking straight in the eyes of Sesshoumaru. The sadness and fear in her eyes were replaced with courage and determination.   
  
_She's a very strong and brave girl..._ Sesshoumaru thought, as he watched her take on last look at her little brother and turned around to walk away.   
  
'Kagome...' he halted her just before she left the room. '...I want you to know that you're the most bravest and strongest human girl I have ever met.' he took a short pause. 'I should be the one thanking you.'  
  
She smiled gently as she looked over her shoulder at Sesshoumaru and turned to walk away again.  
  
'Please come back alive, for me and my brother's sake.'  
  
Kagome stopped for a short moment after hearing those words but this time she didn't say anything or looked back and continued to walk away.  
  
[End flashback]  
  
  
  
  
Kagome shook her head and entered the castle with her quiver on her back and her precious bow in her hand.  
  
A shadow stood behind the window in the chamber of the highest tower and watched Kagome enter the castle. 'Kukuku, so you have finally come...' he chuckled. 'I'm sorry but I will not let you mess up with my plans.'  
  
Naraku snapped his finger and a tremendous amount of youkais appeared in the sky above the black tower.  
  
'Dear fellow youkais, make sure the maiden doesn't have a single amount of strength left when she reached this chamber. Do NOT kill her!!' he commanded.  
  
The youkais roared altogether and teleported themselves into the tower and the rest of the castle.  
  
  
  
  
-- Back to Kagome --  
  
_The bastard must be hiding in the highest tower._ Kagome thought as she walked through the throne chamber.  
  
'Welcome to lord Naraku's castle, song-maiden.' a voice growled.   
  
Kagome turned to where the voice came from.   
  
The creature that spoke came into the light. Kagome's eyes widened.  
  
'This can't be...you're supposed to be dead!!' she cried as she prepared an arrow.  
  
'Surprise!!' the youkai chuckled; it was one of the four Chimeras that pursued Kagome back then. 'The dark power of the Shikon no Tama is really handy, don't you agree?'  
  
Without warning, Kagome shot her arrow straight at its heart.   
  
The Chimera smashed the arrow into bits as if it was just an ordinary arrow. 'Not only have I been revived, but lord Naraku also granted me more power.' the Chimera smirked.  
  
Kagome narrowed her eyes as she prepared another arrow. _Want to wear me out, don't you, Naraku? _Kagome thought as she aimed at the Chimera._ I'm going to reach the top of the black tower no matter what, so say your prayers and wait for me!_  
  
The Chimera lunged forward with its claws first. 'Die!!'   
  
Kagome quickly dodged it. _This is going to be tough..._ She thought as she straightened herself up again.  
  
  
  
  
-- Back to Inuyasha --  
  
_Uhnn....w-where..._ Inuyasha slowly sat up. 'W-what happened...?' His head shot to his side as the person beside the bed spoke.  
  
'Quite an effective spell she had cast.'  
  
'Sesshoumaru!? What are you doing here?!' Inuyasha spat surprised.  
  
'Well, this IS my room and the bed you've been sleeping on for the past four hours IS my bed...' he replied bluntly.  
  
'You're...room...' Inuyasha mumbled. Then it suddenly struck him. 'FOUR HOURS?!' Where is Kagome?!' he shouted.  
  
'She left for the black castle.' his brother replied.  
  
'WHAAT?! Why didn't you stop her?!?' Inuyasha yelled. 'That baka, I told her not to...' Inuyasha quickly got out of bed but as soon as his feet reached the floor, he suddenly felt dizzy. He quickly grabbed the wall for support. 'What the...?!'  
  
'The spell has not completely worn off yet.' Sesshoumaru explained as he walked to his little brother's side.  
  
Inuyasha grabbed his brother's arm. 'Please...please help me...help me get her back.' he begged.  
  
Sesshoumaru only looked at him. 'She has decided this on her own, why don't you just accept it?' he said with a calm voice.  
  
Inuyasha's eyes flared with anger and he pushed Sesshoumaru away.  
  
'Shut up!! I don't want to hear any more of this crap!!' he growled. 'If you're not going to help me, I will do it on my own!' he spat and walked out of the room.  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~   
  
Inuyasha was standing on his dragon as it flew towards the castle. _Kagome, wait for me!! I'm coming!!_  
  
  
  
-- At the black castle --  
  
Inuyasha quickly dashed into the castle as soon as he landed in the courtyard. _She's here! _he thought as he sniffed the air and entered the throne room.  
  
_She must be heading to the highest tower._   
  
Suddenly a huge dragon youkai jumped out of nowhere and blocked his way to the stairs. 'Wanna go after the maiden? You'll have to get past me first!!' the youkai roared.  
  
'Keh! If you want to die so badly.' Inuyasha smirked as he pulled out Tetsusaiga. Suddenly he felt a surge of dizziness take over again and Inuyasha was was forced to support on his Tetsusaiga.  
  
'Die! Hanyou!!' the youkai yelled and lunged forward.  
  
_Chikushou!!_ Inuyasha forced himself to recover from the dizziness but couldn't dodge the attack anymore.  
  
Before it reached Inuyasha, the youkai was suddenly ripped apart.   
  
Inuyasha was startled and looked around. 'Who...?'  
  
'Seriously Inuyasha, why do I always have to save your ass?' Sesshoumaru said with a calm voice as he landed next to Inuyasha.  
  
'Sesshoumaru!' Inuyasha was surprised to see his brother.  
  
'I thought you might need some help, since the spell had not worn off yet.' Sesshoumaru smirked. 'I guess I was right.'  
  
'Keh!' Inuyasha spat, but inside, he was really relieved that Sesshoumaru came.  
  
Suddenly a swarm of youkais appeared in front of them.  
  
'No time to chat, little brother, we have another priority at the moment.' Sesshoumaru said as he jumped into a fighting position with his Toukijin unsheathed in his hand.  
  
'Ahh...' Inuyasha acknowledged and held Tetsusaiga ready.  
  
  
  
-- In the meantime --  
  
Kagome was halfway up the black tower. Her clothes were dirty and stained with a mixture of youkai blood and her own blood. Cuts could be seen on her sleeves and hakama.   
  
'Huff.. puff..puff...' Kagome was panting heavily.  
  
_I only have three more arrows left._ She thought as she tightened her grip on her bow.  
  
A huge swarm of youkai was blocking her way on the stairs.   
  
Kagome pulled an arrow from her quiver and held it to her chest. _Please...please open the way to the top for me!_ She prayed in her heart and she shot the arrow straight to the swarm of youkai.  
  
They were immediately purified as the arrow approached them.   
  
The stairs were cleared for now and Kagome continued her way up again.  
  
  
  
-- Back to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru --  
  
After vanquishing swarms of youkais, they have barely reached the base of the black tower.  
  
'Kaze no Kizu!!!'   
  
Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga, and huge blades flew towards the swarm of youkais.  
  
The whole swarm was vanquished in an instance, but after taking about 20 steps, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's way was blocked again by another swarm.  
  
'Chikushou!!' Inuyasha shouted. 'This is endless!!'  
  
Sesshoumaru ripped a couple of youkais apart and jumped next to Inuyasha.  
  
'Inuyasha.' he suddenly spoke. 'You go one ahead, I will take care of this!'  
  
Inuyasha turned to him. 'Are you sure?'  
  
'Kagome needs your help, you need to get to her as soon as possible.' Sesshoumaru replied. 'I will open the path for you, when I say GO, you run as fast as you can upstairs.'  
  
Inuyasha gave his brother a worried look.  
  
'I won't die. For I am not called the lord of the Western lands for nothing.' his voice was as calm as always. 'I will be expecting you to come back alive together with Kagome.'  
  
Sesshoumaru turned to the swarm of youkai. 'Now GO!!' he shouted.  
  
Inuyasha nodded. 'Take care, Sesshoumaru.' With that he dashed as fast as he could to the stairs.  
  
At the same time, Sesshoumaru swung his Toukijin and opened a path within the swarm of youkais.  
  
_Inuyasha, don't you dare lose to that bastard._ he thought as he watched Inuyasha disappear up the stairs.  
  
  
  
  
-- At the top of the black tower --  
  
Naraku was standing in the middle of the room. He was facing a pillar of light.  
  
At the center of the pillar, a jewel was floating mid-air. The Shikon no Tama, which was completely black now.  
  
'Kukuku, it's almost time.' he smirked.  
  
'Naraku!!!!' a voice shouted from behind him.  
  
He turned around.   
  
Kagome was standing at the doorway, aiming an arrow at his heart.  
  
'Ah! There you are...maiden...irashai...' he chuckled. 'I don't want you to miss this wonderful moment.'  
  
_This is my last arrow, I can't miss... _Kagome thought as she concentrated on her aim.  
  
'You cannot kill me maiden,' Naraku smirked. 'for I am already connected to the Shikon no Tama.'  
  
Kagome's eyes widened as she heard this.  
  
Naraku approached her. 'If you kill me, the jewel will go out of control...and this land will definitely die.'  
  
Kagome slowly lowered her bow and dropped her gaze to the floor. Her bangs covered her eyes.  
  
'Now that's a good girl.' He stopped at about 2 meters away. 'You cannot risk this world in order to avenge your family's and onee-sama's death, can you?' he sneered.   
  
Kagome's ears twitched as she heard those words and started to tremble of anger.  
  
'And you surely won't risk you life either to safe this world, because when you do, you won't be able to take revenge on me.' Naraku taunted, an evil smile appeared on his face.  
  
Kagome suddenly stopped trembling and she looked up at Naraku. A smirk appeared on her face as a white aura surrounded her body.  
  
The smile on Naraku's face disappeared. 'H-how!? There shouldn't be a single amount of powers left in your body!!' he cried in disbelief.  
  
'Surprise...' Kagome growled. '...you won't wear me off that easily!!' She quickly raised her bow and pointed her arrow at his heart. At the same time, the white aura concentrated around the arrowhead.  
  
'Y-you cannot kill me!! The jewel will...' Naraku was cut off.  
  
'I will manage somehow, but you...' she snarled. '...must disappear from this world!! Now DIE!!!' she cried and released her arrow.  
  
Before Naraku could move an inch, the arrow was already piercing his heart.  
  
Because of the tremendous holy power, Naraku's body was slammed against the wall.  
  
'AARGGKKK!!' he cried out as he hit the wall.  
  
The holy powers faded and the arrow appeared again. It pinned Naraku to the wall.  
  
'You...you bitch!! I-I have...underestimated you...' he groaned before he closed his eyes and his body went limp.  
  
Kagome watched him with an emotionless expression. _Serves you right._ she thought.  
  
Suddenly she felt something burning well up in her throat. She immediately dropped her bow and held her chest as she spewed the burning content on the floor.   
  
*COUGH*  
  
Kagome fell on her knees, and looked at what she had threw up on the floor.  
  
A huge pool of red liquid could be seen on the floor in front of her.  
  
She felt some of the warm liquid at the corner of her mouth streaming down to her chin.   
  
She softly wiped it a little with her fingers and she looked at them. The tips of her fingers were colored red.  
  
_Blood..._She thought as she cleaned up her fingers with her clothes._ I guess I have overused my miko powers a little..._  
  
Suddenly the whole castle began to shake and the pillar of light in the middle of the room began to flicker.  
  
_The Shikon no Tama!!_ Kagome realized and quickly stood back on her feet. 'I-I have to use it...I have to use that power...' she mumbled as she approached the pillar of light.  
  
Kagome stopped as she reached the pillar. She raised her hand to take the jewel but as soon as her hand touched the pillar, her hand was bounced back by an electric field. 'ARCK' she cried as she pulled her hand away.  
  
_A barrier?! _Kagome thought surprised but quickly went back to her senses. _There's no turning back now! I have to get to the Shikon no Tama no matter what!!  
  
_Kagome reached for the floating jewel once again, this time she tried to penetrate the barrier using her whole body.  
  
The electric bolts started to form on her whole body, causing wounds on her arms and face as she continued to lean against the barrier.  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha finally reached the room on the top of the tower. He was totally worn off and wounds were visible all over his body.  
  
He had to hold on to a wall for support as the castle continued to shake. _What the hell is going on!?_ he thought.  
  
Suddenly he noticed the body that was hanging on the wall where he was leaning onto.   
  
'Naraku!!' he yelled when he recognized who it was.  
  
Naraku slightly opened his eyes when he heard his name; blood was coming out of the corner of his mouth. He first looked at Inuyasha and then at something at the center of the room.  
  
He smirked. 'You're too late, Inuyasha.'  
  
Inuyasha followed his gaze to the center of the room. He didn't notice the pillar of light before, but his eyes widened as he saw who was standing in the middle of it.  
  
Kagome was standing at the center of the pillar of light. Blood was coming out of the corner of her mouth and out of the wounds and bruises on her face and body. Her clothes were shred on some places and floating upwards, together with her hair.  
  
Her hands were clasped together; holding something between them. [AN: Looks just like when she used her powers during her first battle]  
  
Her eyes were closed, she seemed to be in pain.  
  
'She's going to sacrifice herself in order to save this world...' Naraku continued. 'It's no use...she'll die overusing her powers before she can seal the powers of the jewel...'   
  
Naraku chuckled and closed his eyes. 'Stupid humans...' Were his last words before he died.  
  
Inuyasha watched him as his body dissolved in the air, leaving Kagome's arrow on the wall.  
  
He turned to Kagome again and walked towards her.  
  
_Kurushii..._ Kagome thought as she held the jewel in her hands, which rested on her chest. _Inuyasha...I guess this...is...goodbye..._   
  
'Kagome!!'  
  
Kagome's eyes shot open as she heard her name. Her eyes widened. 'I-Inuyasha!?'  
  
'What the hell do you think you're doing!?!' he yelled angrily, standing about 3 meters away from her.  
  
'I...' she started but was cut off.  
  
'First you ran off, blaming me for not returning your feelings...' Inuyasha yelled as he took a step closer. 'Then you made me realize my feelings towards you...' Another step closer. 'And now you want me to watch you sacrifice yourself for me and this world!?!'  
  
Tears filled her eyes. 'Gomen nasai, Inuyasha.' she cried. 'This is the only way...this is fate...'  
  
'Don't give me that crap!!' he shouted. 'Fate isn't decided by anybody else except yourself, you can change it!!'  
  
'No Inuyasha, it's not...onegai, leave this place before it crumbles!!' she begged before she closed her eyes and turned around.  
  
More tears flowed down her cheeks. _It's better this way...Inuyasha...please live on for me..._   
  
Suddenly she felt something warm touching her hands that were still resting on her chest.  
  
She opened her eyes and saw two hands holding onto hers. She quickly looked over her shoulders and a bit up. Her eyes widened as she saw Inuyasha smiling at her.  
  
Inuyasha slowly put his head on her shoulder and pulled her slightly closer until her back was leaning onto his chest.  
  
'Inuyasha!!' she cried. 'You can't...you'll die!!'   
  
'I won't let you die alone, Kagome.' he whispered in her ear.  
  
Kagome slowly pulled away and turned around to face him. Her hands were still holding the jewel. 'I-Inuyasha...' she whispered.  
  
Inuyasha cupped her cheeks. 'If we fight together, we can definitely change fate.' Inuyasha said with a gentle voice.  
  
He leaned closer to her. 'And if not, we will die together...' Were his last words before he closed his eyes and kissed her.  
  
Kagome leaned onto his chest and kissed him back. _Kami-sama, onegai...let me turn the wheel of fate..._ she prayed wholeheartedly before she released the Shikon no Tama and put her arms around Inuyasha to hug him tight.  
  
The black jewel slowly fell to the floor.   
  
Before it hit the floor, it flashed white light and shattered.   
  
Everything became white.  
  
  
  
-- At the same time --  
  
Sesshoumaru had already left the castle as soon as it began to shake. He stood on his dragon in the sky and watched the black castle from afar.  
  
Suddenly a huge flash of light came from within the black castle and covered the whole land.  
  
Sesshoumaru covered his eyes.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The bright light started to fade and Sesshoumaru slowly opened his eyes. His eyes widened and his jaw almost dropped at the sight before him.  
  
Forests as far as the eye could reach were green and filled with life.   
  
Pure blue water was streaming in the rivers and lakes.   
  
The sky was clear and blue.   
  
Colorful birds soared in the sky.  
  
_They did it..._ Sesshoumaru thought, but somehow, he couldn't help feeling sad as he watched the black castle that was now in ruins.   
  
'Inuyasha...Kagome..' he whispered as he turned around.   
  
He quickly turned back when he suddenly noticed something at the corner of his eye.  
  
'That's...' he said as he saw something appear in the sky above the ruins.  
  
Sesshoumaru commanded his dragon to fly closer to it.  
  
As they flew closer to it, the small dot in the sky began to take shape.  
  
It was a red dragon.  
  
_Inuyasha's dragon!?!_ he thought surprised. _Someone's riding on it!!_   
  
He narrowed his eyes and they widened as he recognized the person riding on it.  
  
  
Inuyasha stood on his dragon as it flew away from the black castle. He looked at the angel that he was carrying in his arms.  
  
'Kagome... open your eyes...' he said softly.  
  
Kagome wasn't moving and her eyes were still shut.  
  
'K-Kagome...o-open your eyes and look...' He looked at the landscape beneath them. '...the world...it's beautiful...we've saved it...'  
  
Inuyasha held her closer. 'P-please...K-Kagome...you c-can't leave me like this!!' he cried and leaned his chin on her forehead.  
  
'I-I...I have tried so hard...I c-can't lose you...' he sobbed as he closed his eyes and a teardrop rolled down to his chin; landing on Kagome's forehead.  
  
Kagome felt something wet hit her forehead and slowly opened her eyes. She saw strands of silver hair that were stroking her cheek. 'I-Inuyasha?' she mumbled softly.  
  
Inuyasha's eyes shot open and pulled away a little. He looked down and his eyes met Kagome's blue ones.  
  
'K-Kagome?!' he said in disbelief.  
  
'I-Inuyasha...have we...died?' she asked with a weak voice.  
  
Inuyasha quickly stopped crying. 'No silly...we survived...we have turned the wheel of fate.' He smiled and looked up. 'Look.' he said.  
  
Kagome looked around.  
  
Tears filled her eyes as she looked back at Inuyasha.  
  
'Don't cry...' he said as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. When he pulled away he saw a smile on her face.  
  
'Baka! These are tears of joy!' she chuckled.  
  
He returned a smile before he leaned closer to her face.  
  
They both closed their eyes at the same time and their lips met.  
  
Kagome cupped his cheek with one hand and leaned onto the kiss.  
  
Their lips didn't part until the dragon disappeared in the sky as it flew towards the white castle.  
  
  
.~*~.**owari**.~*~.  
  


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Hope you have enjoyed reading this story like I have enjoyed writing it ^-^!! This story has officially ended. Thank you all for following it!!  
  
Special thanks to those who have reviewed and encouraged me to go on!!  
  
**Vocabulary:**  
  
**Aishiteru:** I love you  
**Gomen(nasai):** I'm sorry  
**Arigatou: **Thanks  
**Baka:** Idiot  
**Chikushou:** Shit/Damn  
**Hanyou:** Half demon  
**Ahh...:** Yeah  
**Irashai:** Welcome  
**Kurushii:** It hurts  
**Onegai:** I beg you  
**Owari:** The End  
  
Like this story? Hate it? Please don't hesitate to voice your opinion by reviewing ^-^!! I will begin writing my next story, I haven't found a proper title yet, if I do, I will post it on FF.net as soon as possible! Please look forward to it!   
  
Lots of greets,  
  
~Kittymui~   
  
Posted: 10 July 2003  
Last edited: 10 July 2003 


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